Belgium’s Supreme Court confirms release of Nizar Trabelsi after long-running legal dispute
Belgium’s Court of Cassation has rejected the government’s appeals against earlier rulings that ordered the release of Nizar Trabelsi, a former Tunisian footballer who was convicted of terrorism offences in 2004. This leaves the Belgian state with no legal grounds on which to detain Trabelsi, bringing an end to the long-running judicial and diplomatic saga that has spanned two decades.
Trabelsi was sentenced to ten years in a Belgian prison for plotting to attack the Kleine-Brogel airbase, where American troops and nuclear weapons are stationed. He was also found guilty of illegally possessing arms and of being a member of al-Qaeda.
Despite a clear prohibition by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Belgium extradited Trabelsi to the United States in 2013. In 2014, the ECHR ruled that this violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.
After nearly a decade in US custody, Trabelsi was acquitted by a federal court in Washington in 2023. However, he remained imprisoned in Virginia until his health deteriorated and he repeatedly requested to return to Belgium, where his wife lives.
In August 2025, following a series of rulings by Belgian courts of appeal imposing daily fines on the state for non-compliance, he was finally repatriated. Upon arrival, Belgian immigration authorities ordered his removal and detained him in the closed centre in Merksplas, but these orders were repeatedly overturned by the Council for Alien Law Litigation and later the Brussels courts, who cited the risk of torture if he were to be deported to Tunisia.
Despite strong opposition from Migration minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), who argued that Trabelsi remained a threat to public safety, the Court of Cassation upheld the rulings of lower courts ordering his release. Van Bossuyt said that she had exhausted every legal avenue to keep him in custody, but that she was "bound hand and foot" by judicial decisions. "We have done everything possible to prevent his release," she said, describing the situation as "incomprehensible and deeply concerning".
The minister added that Trabelsi’s movements would be closely monitored by the security services while potential identification and repatriation procedures with the Tunisian authorities were carried out. "We must avoid any renewed threat to public safety while maintaining open diplomatic channels with Tunisia for his eventual return," she said. For now, however, the Belgian government has no lawful means to detain or deport Trabelsi.
© BELGA PHOTO ETIENNE ANSOTTE
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