These are two separate investigations opened by the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (Pnat), in which a young woman was double charged, this Monday, November 10. The first concerns a USB key, which he illegally handed over to his former colleague, Salah Abdeslam, who was imprisoned in Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais) prison, and the second is a failed jihadist attack plan. We take stock.
Who is Maëva B.?
Born in 1998 in Tarn-et-Garonne, this young woman, currently 27 years old, began a written correspondence with Salah Abdeslam in December 2018, then was jailed awaiting his trial for the November 13 attacks in Paris. Maëva B., who converted to Islam after a period of anorexia and depression, was described as “close to radical movements” by intelligence agencies.
In 2018, during the investigation, he asked an anti-terrorism judge for permission to visit, but he was refused. “I wanted to give him moral support and maintain the bonds that unite us in this ordeal,” he wrote. At the start of their exchange, Maëva B. was primarily interested in theology, seeking religious advice from the prisoner. But over the years, according to our information, this “friendly” relationship developed into a romantic relationship.
In 2024, after six years of correspondence, Maëva B. obtained visitation rights as part of their intimate relationship. In the following months, the couple, who had never been religiously married, physically met several times in Vendin-le-Vieil prison. According to our information, Salah Abdeslam and Maëva B., who were once hosted by a terrorist family in Belgium, separated last April and have not been in touch since then.
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What is this USB key?
The affair began on January 17. That day, the prison administration at Vendin-le-Vieil (Pas-de-Calais) prison, where Salah Abdeslam is serving his sentence, reported to the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) the discovery, two days earlier, of “connection traces of four USB keys between December 2024 and January 2025 on a computer legally held by Salah Abdeslam” in custody. If the terrorist, who bought the computer tower “to take a course”, can have “access to the computer in his cell” without internet, its use is usually “very limited”, a prison union source told AFP.
According to Pnat, who opened the first judicial investigation, analysis of the jihadists’ computers revealed “the existence of a number of recordings in the form of access points to audio, image or video files” related to “official propaganda of the terrorist organization, the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda”, indicating the potential for transfer from other devices.
The investigation led to “several hearings conducted in Belgium (…) and the identification” of Maëva B., “who benefited materially from the visit permit” of Salah Abdeslam, according to Pnat. Placed in police custody on November 4 at the office of the anti-terrorist subdirectorate (Sdat), Maëva B. “admitted to having obtained a USB key, loaded it with jihadist propaganda and gave it to Salah Abdeslam while in the visiting room”, explained the special prosecutor. The young woman was charged with “receiving a prohibited object given to a prisoner”.
Why are we talking about a failed attack plan?
As part of the investigation into the prohibited USB keys, SDAT police officers searched Maëva B.’s house and confiscated several “digital media”. By analyzing it, investigators found “several discussions or research related to the development of different violent action projects, unrelated to Salah Abdeslam.”
Based on the information we obtained, it turns out that the young woman is still in a new intimate relationship with a 20 year old young man, Lounis S., a resident of Grenoble (Isère) whom she met on social networks, to the point of sealing their union through a religious marriage. Maëva B. also had contact with a 17-year-old teenager living in Montpellier (Hérault).
Two correspondents, described as very radical people, discussed with Maëva B. plans to join jihadist organizations abroad or carry out attacks on French soil, plans that would give rise to research. The 20-year-old, Maëva B.’s “religious new husband” and the 17-year-old were taken in turn by police last Friday.
Faced with these findings, a second judicial investigation was opened by Pnat into “criminal association of terrorists with the aim of committing crimes that harm people”. In a relatively rare event, the police detention of Maëva B., who showed “particular radicalization” and “interest in jihad”, exceeded the 96-hour rule and was extended for six days, an extraordinary duration that is only possible in case of danger of attack or for the need for international cooperation.
Early Monday morning, Maëva B., her “religious new husband” and the 17-year-old were charged under this section for “criminal terrorist association” and placed in pre-trial detention.
Is Salah Abdeslam involved in one of these cases?
In these two cases, Salah Abdeslam was detained by the police twice, before being released and returned to custody, Tuesday and Friday. If Salah Abdeslam is still “radicalized”, he is “not involved in a planned attack”, said Céline Berthon, head of the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI).
He is “in no way suspected by the court of being directly or indirectly involved in any criminal project”, supported the French jihadist lawyers, Mes Olivia Ronen, Benoit David and Martin Vettes, in a press release. “To date, Salah Abdeslam has not been tried, let alone convicted. And, more than ever, the presumption of innocence remains,” they added.
France will commemorate on Thursday, as a day of respect for the victims, of the November 13, 2015 attacks in Paris and Saint-Denis, which left 132 people dead – including two Bataclan suicide victims who suffered deep psychological wounds.
