Nizar Trabelsi

Nizar Trabelsi

Personal information
Full name	Nizar ben Abdelaziz Trabelsi
Date of birth	(1970-07-02) 2 July 1970 (age 54)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1990	Fortuna Düsseldorf	1	(1)
1992	Wuppertaler SV
1992	1. FC Wülfrath
1993	SV 09/35 Wermelskirchen
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 as terrorist and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his association with Al-Qaeda, and for plotting to attack US targets including American soldiers stationed at the Belgian airbase Kleine Brogel Air Base. ^{[1] [2]}

Football career

Trabelsi played in Germany for Fortuna Düsseldorf, Wuppertaler SV, 1. FC Wülfrath, SV 09/35 Wermelskirchen and VfR Neuss, as a midfielder. ^[3]

Association with Al-Qaeda

Trabelsi had traveled to Afghanistan and met Osama bin Laden on several occasions. ^[4] 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. ^[5]

Trabelsi was arrested in an apartment, in Uccle near Brussels, Belgium on 13 September 2001. 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.

Conviction

In 2003, Trabelsi was sentenced to a ten-year prison term in Belgium, ^[1] for plotting to attack the Kleine Brogel Air Base. ^[6] 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. ^[7] 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. ^{[8] [9]}

Trabelsi was extradited to the United States in October 2013, after he completed his sentence in Belgium. ^[10]

As of 14 June 2018 ^[update] , he remained in jail in solitary confinement, in Washington D.C., awaiting trial. ^[4] On 14 July, 2023, he was found not guilty in an American federal court. ^[6] 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. ^{[11] [12]}

References

1. 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. "Nizar Trabelsi". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
4. "Alleged al Qaeda Member Extradited to the United States". Transparent Policy. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
5. CNN News (26 October 2001). Thwarting terror cells in Europe The CNN Website, retrieved 21 April 2008
6. 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.
7. "Nizar Trabelsi uitgeleverd aan de VS - De Standaard". Standaard.be. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
8. 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.").
9. "Court chides Belgium in terror case". BBC News. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. NWS, VRT (1 October 2023). "Terreurverdachte Nizar Trabelsi al week in hongerstaking in Amerikaans detentiecentrum". vrtnws.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 June 2024.