A French court is contemplating convictions against 20 men suspected of involvement in the 2015 Paris attacks that resulted in the deaths of 130 people.
Among the accused is Salah Abdeslam, who is regarded as the most important suspect and the sole surviving attacker suspect.
This Monday, he told the court that he was “not a murderer or a killer” and that his conviction would be “unfair.”
The largest trial in modern French history began in September.
For more than nine months, victims, journalists, and the families of the deceased have gathered in front of the specially constructed courtroom in Paris to piece together the story of the deadliest attack in France since World War II.
On 13 November 2015, the combination of gun and bomb attacks in bars, restaurants, the national football stadium, and the Bataclan concert venue resulted in hundreds of injuries and deaths.
The verdicts are anticipated to commence at 17:00 (local time) (16:00 BST).
The trial has included heartbreaking testimony, including the airing of audio recordings from within the Bataclan.
One victim overheard his conversation with the hostage-taker. According to him, letting the court hear his story was “the most healing thing”
However, the testimony was frequently thick, comprehensive, and confounding.
Salah Abdeslam’s (now 32) remarks were occasionally conflicting and difficult to comprehend.
He is accused of being a member of a 10-person squad of heavily armed jihadists that carried out the attack, before discarding his suicide belt and fleeing back to his house in Brussels, where several of his co-accused lived.
Prosecutors have recommended a life sentence for Salah Abdeslam, the harshest punishment that French law allows for criminals, with a minimal prospect of parole after 30 years.
Since 1994, it has only been handed down four times.
Where the Paris attacks occurred
Six of the twenty individuals on trial, including five prominent Islamic State officials, are assumed to have perished in the attack and are therefore being tried in absentia.
Mohamed Abrini, who admitted participation in the Paris attacks but denied leading the plan, and Mohamed Amri, who admitted driving Salah Abdeslam from Belgium to Paris, are among the other accused.
Hamza Attou is suspected of driving the primary suspect away, but he has denied any ties to terrorism. Yassine Atar is accused of possessing the keys to a safe house, but he has maintained his innocence.
Lucy Williamson, a correspondent for the BBC in Paris, stated that the exceptional trial “was a means for the French state to comprehend the unexplained and impose authority over the chaos and terror” of the attacks.
However, many victims report that it helped them overcome their trauma.
