"Abdeslam has the intelligence of an empty ashtray"
Mary spoke with his client in Bruges and Beveren penitentiaries on a handful of occasions and comes to the following conclusion.
"Abdeslam is a follower rather than a leader. When I asked him if he had read the Koran he said he'd found a summary on the internet. For a simple soul that is perfect. A summary on the net is the absolute tops he can understand."
Abdeslam is co-operating in the investigation. Sven Mary says that he could be of capital importance for the investigation."
The lawyer concedes that he has thought of ditching his client as a result of verbal and psychical attacks: "Two men beat me up outside my office and the police have had to escort my daughters to school on several occasions."