Nizar Trabelsi has asked the Belgian government to assist him in relocating to Afghanistan, where he wishes to settle, he revealed in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday.
Trabelsi, a 55-year-old Tunisian, was sentenced in 2003 to 10 years in prison for planning an attack on Belgium’s Kleine-Brogel military base. After serving his sentence, he was extradited to the United States in 2013, where he faced trial.
In July 2023, a federal court in Washington acquitted Trabelsi, but he remained imprisoned in Virginia despite the ruling. He was finally released and returned to Belgium in August, where he was detained in Merksplas detention centre for illegal migrants. He was allowed to leave the facility at the end of October.
Trabelsi said his lawyers are now seeking to overturn his Belgian conviction, citing his acquittal in the US.
Belgium’s Minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, has stated she aims to deport Trabelsi to Tunisia, his country of origin.
However, Trabelsi has asked Belgian authorities to send him to Afghanistan instead, where he claims to own a house and believes he can live happily. He stated that he does not wish to settle in Belgium.
Trabelsi has requested the Belgian government to contact the Taliban to facilitate the necessary paperwork for his relocation to Afghanistan.
