Nizar Trabelsi

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Nizar Trabelsi
Nizar Trabelsi 2021.jpg
Nizar Trabelsi in custody
Personal information
Full name Nizar ben Abdelaziz Trabelsi
Date of birth (1970-07-02) 2 July 1970 (age 55)
Place of birth Sfax, Tunisia
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1987–1989 CS Sfaxien
1989–1990 Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 (1)
1989–1990 Fortuna Düsseldorf II
1992 Borussia Wuppertaler
1992 1. FC Wülfrath
1993 SV 09/35 Wermelskirchen 1 (0)
1993–1994 VfR Neuss
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nizar ben Abdelaziz Trabelsi (born 2 July 1970) is a Tunisian former professional footballer. In 2003, he was convicted in Belgium and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his association with Al-Qaeda, and for a variety of crimes, including attempting to destroy the military base Kleine Brogel Air Base. [1] [2] He is currently held in a US prison, despite being cleared by a federal jury in July 2023. [3]

Contents

Football career

Considered a talent of Tunisian football, Trabelsi started his career at hometown club CS Sfaxien. [4]

Trabelsi then moved to Germany to play for Fortuna Düsseldorf, however Fortuna quickly deemed him to be unsuitable for professional football. [4] He then moved to Wuppertaler SV, before playing for amateur clubs 1. FC Wülfrath, SV 09/35 Wermelskirchen and VfR Neuss, as a midfielder. [5] Shortly afterwards, he disappeared from football altogether. [4]

Association with Al-Qaeda

Trabelsi had traveled to Afghanistan and met Osama bin Laden on several occasions. [6] In 2001, Trabelsi was suspected of plotting to attack a US embassy in Paris, which was uncovered and stopped. [1] He is said to be the designated suicide bomber, and was to wear a business suit to conceal the strapped bomb onto himself before walking into the embassy. [7]

Trabelsi was arrested in an apartment, in Uccle near Brussels, Belgium on 13 September 2001. [4] He was also implicated by Briton Saajid Badat, who alleged that both of them had conspired with Richard Reid supposedly to blow up two US-bound airliners using shoe bombs simultaneously. [8]

Conviction

In 2003, Trabelsi was sentenced to a ten-year prison term in Belgium, [1] for plotting to attack the Kleine Brogel Air Base. [9] He was also found guilty of illegal weapons possession and being a member in a private militia. On 3 October 2013, he was extradited to the United States. [10]

The United States had requested that Belgium extradite Trabelsi, given that American military personnel were present at the base. Trabelsi challenged that request in Belgium, contending that his extradition would violate the Extradition Treaty Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Belgium of 1987. Belgium disagreed and extradited Trabelsi to the United States. [11]

In September 2014, the European Court of Human Rights found that his deportation was performed in violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and ordered Belgium to pay 60,000 euros in damages to Trabelsi. [12] [13]

Trabelsi was extradited to the United States in October 2013, after he completed his sentence in Belgium. [14] He was kept ten years in solitary confinement, awaiting trial. [6] On 14 July 2023, he was found not guilty in an American federal court. [9] Despite the outcome of this trial, Trabelsi remains to be held in jail, also in solitary confinement, in what he calls "a black hole". The cell measures 3.5 by 3.5 meters, the light is burning constantly, and he is only allowed to leave the cell for one hour per day. The European Court of Human Rights has on multiple occasions convicted the governments of Belgium for the circumstances Trabelsi is living in since his deportation.

As a consequence of these rulings, national courts in Brussels have demanded for Trabelsi to be extradited back to Belgium, with a penalty for the federal government of Belgium of up to €200.000 if this demand is not met. [15] [16]

Despite being acquitted, Trabelsi remains in a US prison. In 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenges the legality of Trabelsi's detention, citing violations of the U.S.-Belgium Extradition Treaty, U.S. immigration law, and the U.S. Constitution. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 BBC News (2007-12) Belgium frees jailbreak suspects, 22 December 2007.
  2. ↑ "Suspect Convicted in Belgian Terror Trial". Associated Press . Brussels. 30 September 2003. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Trabelsi admitted planning to drive a car bomb into the canteen of the Kleine Brogel air base, a Belgian military post used by NATO where U.S. troops are stationed.
  3. 1 2 "Tunisian Man Sues US Over 'Inhumane Treatment' After Acquittal on Terrorism Charges". Newsweek. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hubert Zdankiewicz (2 March 2025), "Piłkarz-terrorysta skazany za próbę wysadzenia bazy NATO. Sensacyjny zwrot akcji", fakt.pl (in Polish), Fakt
  5. ↑ "Nizar Trabelsi". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Trabelsi v. Crawford et al". acluva.org. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  7. ↑ CNN News (26 October 2001). Thwarting terror cells in Europe The CNN Website, retrieved 21 April 2008
  8. ↑ Associated Press (28 February 2006), Briton pleads guilty to helping 'shoe bomber', NBC News
  9. 1 2 Reily, Ryan; Dilanian, Ken (14 July 2023). "Former soccer star accused of plotting terror with Osama bin Laden found not guilty". www.msn.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Nizar Trabelsi uitgeleverd aan de VS - De Standaard". Standaard.be. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA APPELLEE v. NIZAR BEN ABDELAZIZ TRABELSI". caselaw.findlaw.com. 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  12. ↑ Trabelsi v. Belgium, ECHR140/10 , 139(European Court of Human Rights4 September 2014)("The Court accordingly concludes that the applicant's extradition to the United States of America amounted to a violation of Article 3 of the Convention.").
  13. ↑ "Court chides Belgium in terror case". BBC News. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  14. ↑ Aaron Y Zelini (14 June 2018). "Liège Attacker Connected to Tunisian Jihadi Veterans?". Tunisian Jihadism . Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2020. As for Trabelsi, after serving his prison term, he was extradited to the United States and left Belgian custody in October 2013. He has since been awaiting trial in Washington, D.C. federal court.
  15. ↑ NWS, VRT (4 March 2024). "Rechtbank veroordeelt België nogmaals: "Nizar Trabelsi moet worden gerepatrieerd vanuit de Verenigde Staten"". vrtnws.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  16. ↑ NWS, VRT (1 October 2023). "Terreurverdachte Nizar Trabelsi al week in hongerstaking in Amerikaans detentiecentrum". vrtnws.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
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