Sven Mary (born November 1971) is a Belgian lawyer, best known for representing notorious criminals such as

Salah Abdeslam Salah Abdeslam ( ar, صلاح عبد السلام, lit=Ṣalāḥ ʿAbd as-Salām; ; born 15 September 1989) is a French Islamic terrorist who was sentenced to life in prison in 2022 as the sole surviving member of the 10-man unit that carried o ...

and for defending

Eva Kaili Eva Kaili ( el, Εύα Καϊλή; born 26 October 1978) is a Greek politician who has been serving as a member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2014. She served as one of fourteen vice presidents of the European Parliament from January 2 ...

, Greek

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

, against charges of corruption as part of the

Qatar corruption scandal at the European Parliament The Qatar corruption scandal at the European Parliament (referred to in media accounts as Qatargate) is an ongoing political scandal, involving allegations that European Parliament officials, lobbyists and their families have been influenced by ...

Early life

Mary was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in November 1971, son of businessman and former director of VRT,

Tony Mary Tony Mary (born 1950) is a Belgian businessman. Education He received a master's degree in economics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 1973. Career He started his career at IBM, where he became Country General Manager for IBM Belgium and Lux ...

. In his youth he played football for the junior team at

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

, but had to give up following an injury. He studied law at the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish Community, Flemish gov ...

, having to repeat his first year three times.

Career

Mary has been described the "star of the Belgian

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

". He earned the nickname “scumbags’ lawyer” (french: link=no, avocat des crapules) for having represented several high-profile criminals. Early in his career he defended Michel Lelievre, an accomplice of Belgian serial killer

Marc Dutroux Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rapist, and child molester. Initially convicted for the abduction and rape of five young girls in 1989, Dutroux was released on parole after just thr ...

. Another client was Fouad Belkacem, leader and spokesperson of the terrorist organisation Sharia4Belgium. Mary came to international attention when he represented

, the sole surviving member of the 10-man unit that carried out the attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015, following his arrest in

Molenbeek ( French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated ...

on 18 March 2016. Mary and French lawyer Frank Berton defended Abdeslam when he went on trial in Brussels in February 2018 for his part in a shoot-out with police in

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

that happened a few days before his arrest. Mary argued that Abdeslam should be acquitted on a technicality, but Adbdeslam was found guilty and given a 20-year prison sentence. He also represented French actor

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...

in civil cases. In February 2023 Mary took over the defence of

, Greek

who was being held on charges of corruption as part of the Qatargate scandal.

Publications

Mary is the author of: * ''L'avocat rebelle'', Kennes Editions, 2021, * ''Défendre l'indéfendable'', Kennes Editions, 2021,

Personal life

Mary is divorced and has two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mary, Sven 1971 births Living people Belgian lawyers November 2015 Paris attacks