'Turn yourself in': Paris fugitive's brother urges him to come forward
The brother of the central suspect wanted over the bloodshed after a string of Paris terror attacks has urged him to come forward.
Mohamed Abdeslam, who arrested and freed without charge in relation to the attacks in Belgium, has called out to his brother in his interview with BFMTV in France.
The brother of the central suspect wanted over the bloodshed after a string of Paris terror attacks has urged him to come forward on French TV. Photo: BFMTV
“I advise him to surrender to the police,” he said.
“The best thing would be for him to surrender so that the legal system can shed full light on the case.
"I remind you that Salah has never been able to tell his side of the story to the police and that he is therefore presumed innocent.”
Belgian police detained Mohamed Abdeslam on Saturday as part of a wave of arrests but he was freed without charge on Monday along with four other suspects.
Two further suspects were charged with involvement with terrorism.
"We are a family. We are thinking about him. We are wondering where he is, and if he is frightened, and if he is eating," the brother said.
Mohamed Abdeslam told Belgium's RTL television at his family home in Brussels on Monday that "he grew up here, studied here, he is a totally normal lad".
Meanwhile, there are reports French officials are seeking a second fugitive directly involved in the Paris attacks.
Three officials, who reportedly spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to provide details about the ongoing investigation, said on Tuesday that an analysis of the series of attacks on Friday night indicated that one person directly involved was unaccounted for.
Seven attackers died that night - three around the national stadium, three inside the Bataclan concert venue and one at a restaurant nearby.
A team of gunmen also opened fire at a series of nightspots in one of Paris's trendiest neighbourhoods.
French and Belgian authorities have issued a warrant for one person, Salah Abdeslam, whose brother was among the attackers.
The officials say the second fugitive has not been identified.
