Council of State rejects Paris attack key suspect's demand to remove camera surveillance

The Council of State on Thursday decided to maintain day-and-night camera surveillance inside the cell of Salah Abdeslam, the solo survivor of November Paris attacks, rejecting allegations of private life's violation.

The Council of State, France's supreme court for administrative justice, said "neither the law authorizing this camera surveillance nor its application were excessive interference with the claimant's private life."

Abdeslam, a key suspect of Paris assaults, was extradited to France from Belgium by helicopter and under heavy security measures in April. He was arrested a month earlier during a raid in Molenbeek in the Belgian capital.

He has been put in solitary confinement and kept under permanent camera surveillance inside his cell in a high-security prison of Fleury-Merogis, south Paris.

At his first hearing in May, the 26-year-old man refused to say anything about the attacks as he refused to be watched 24 hours a day, Frank Berton, his lawyer Sven Mary said.

Abdeslam was accused of belonging to a terrorist organization planning attacks, murder, kidnapping and holding weapons and explosives.

Investigators suspect him of having providing logistics for a group of armed men that stormed restaurants, theater hall and soccer stadium in Paris eight months ago and killed 130 people. Endit