Belgian judicial authorities have approved the extradition to France of Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, prosecutors said, adding that a date for the transfer had not been set, reports The Guardian.
“As Salah Abdeslam had declared to agree to be transferred to France, a federal magistrate took his formal declaration today … The transfer is possible,” the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
“Belgian and French authorities will now consider jointly on how to proceed further in the execution of the transfer,” the statement added.
The sole surviving suspect in the 13 November Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed, Abdeslam was arrested in Brussels on 18 March after four months on the run. The arrest was considered a rare success in Belgium’s anti-terror fight, although he was found just metres from his family home.
A lawyer for Abdeslam, who has been held in a prison in the Belgian city of Bruges, earlier said his client wanted to cooperate with French authorities.
“I can confirm that Salah Abdeslam wants to be handed over to the French authorities,” his lawyer, Cédric Moisse, told reporters at a court hearing in Brussels. “I can also confirm that he wants to cooperate with the French authorities.”
Belgium has increasingly found itself at the centre of Europe’s battle against terrorism and authorities have faced strong criticism for not doing enough to keep tabs on suspected extremists.