Salah Abdeslam is once again requesting an easing of his prison conditions. Sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for his participation in the November 13, 2015 attacks, which killed 130 people in Paris and Saint-Denis , the only surviving member of the commando unit is being held at the Vendin-le-Vieil prison in the Pas-de-Calais region . Before the Lille Administrative Court , he claims to have reached a "tipping point" and is demanding the lifting of his solitary confinement and the end of visits conducted through an intercom.
This is his fifth request to end his solitary confinement since the beginning of the year. Salah Abdeslam, 36, is subject to an extremely strict prison regime. He lives separately from other inmates, and his movements and contacts are closely monitored. His conditions of detention have been the subject of a legal battle in the administrative courts for several months.
"My life has lost all meaning."
During the hearing, the inmate described days devoid of hope and stated his fear of seeing his family ties gradually disappear. He specifically criticized his visiting conditions: his relatives currently have to meet him through a transparent partition, a screen that allows them to speak but prohibits any physical contact.
Salah Abdeslam claims that this situation is now discouraging some members of his family from visiting him. "My life has lost all meaning ," he declared in court. He also says he fears losing what he describes as his last remaining link to the outside world.
The intercom system has been reinstated after the USB key incident.
Visiting conditions had been significantly tightened following the incident involving a USB drive smuggled into prison . Traces of connections from several drives were discovered on the computer Salah Abdeslam had access to. Audio and video files linked to ISIS and Al-Qaeda propaganda were among those found.
His ex-partner, Maëva B., admitted to giving him a USB key during a prison visit. From November 2025 onwards, visits were then conducted behind a glass partition with an intercom, eliminating any direct contact with visitors.
In April 2026, the Lille administrative court had ordered a return to visits without systematic physical separation , without calling into question his placement in isolation. But the situation changed again a few weeks later.
Suspicions of threats against the prison director
In June, the court ultimately refused a further easing of his sentence after the prison administration presented additional evidence. Salah Abdeslam was suspected, in particular, of having asked a fellow inmate to find the home address of the director of Vendin-le-Vieil prison in order to send "two or three guys" there and cause "a catastrophe ." He denies these accusations.
The administration had also reported several incidents involving items being given to the inmate outside of authorized procedures. For the Ministry of Justice, these incidents necessitate maintaining exceptional security measures around an inmate considered particularly vulnerable.
The ministry refers to a "radicalization that is still latent".
The Ministry of Justice opposes lifting the isolation order. It claims that statements recorded overnight are "extremely biased" and reveal a "still latent radicalization ." The prison administration also believes that a transfer to a standard central prison would not adequately guarantee his safety or that of the facility.
This summer, Salah Abdeslam protested his detention conditions for 37 days, refusing to return to his usual prison routine. He was finally returned to his cell at the end of August.
The administrative court in Lille must now rule on this new request. The decision is expected within eight days of the hearing. In the meantime, Salah Abdeslam remains in isolation in Vendin-le-Vieil and continues to receive visitors through a protective screen.
