Nizar Trabelsi
Encyclopedia
Nizar ben Abdelaziz Trabelsi is a convicted terrorist and a former Tunisia
n former professional football player in Germany
. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in 2003 for his association with Al-Qaida, and proposed involvement in militant attacks.
He played for both Fortuna Düsseldorf
and Wuppertal
soccer teams.
While later visiting Afghanistan, he met Osama bin Laden
on several occasions. The Tunisia
n is suspected of plotting the Paris embassy terrorist attack plot. He is said to have been the designated suicide bomber. He was accused of planning to strap a bomb onto himself before walking into the embassy. Trabelsi was to wear a business suit to conceal the bomb.
Trabelsi was arrested in an Uccle
, Belgium
apartment, near Brussels
on September 13, 2001. He was convicted of plotting to attack American soldiers stationed at the Belgian airbase Kleine Brogel
.
Trabelsi was also implicated by Briton Saajid Badat
, who alleged that the two of them had conspired with Richard Reid
to simultaneously blow up two US-bound airliners using shoe bombs. Badat withdrew from his part in the conspiracy, and did not take his planned flight. Reid succeeded in boarding American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami on 22 December 2001, and attempted to bomb the plane, but his explosives failed to detonate. Badat was arrested by British police in November 2003 in Gloucester
. He was subsequently sentenced to 13 years in a UK prison. Reid is serving three life sentences with no possibility of parole in the United States
.
In 2003, Trabelsi was sentenced to a 10-year prison term in France
. He was also found guilty of illegal arms possession and being a member in a private militia.
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
n former professional football player in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in 2003 for his association with Al-Qaida, and proposed involvement in militant attacks.
He played for both Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf
' is a German association football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, currently playing in the second tier of German league football, the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga...
and Wuppertal
Wuppertaler SV Borussia
Wuppertaler SV Borussia is a German association football club located in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. The city was founded in 1929 out of the union of a number of smaller towns including Elberfeld, Barmen, Vohwinkel, Cronenberg and Ronsdorf – each with its own football club...
soccer teams.
While later visiting Afghanistan, he met Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
on several occasions. The Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
n is suspected of plotting the Paris embassy terrorist attack plot. He is said to have been the designated suicide bomber. He was accused of planning to strap a bomb onto himself before walking into the embassy. Trabelsi was to wear a business suit to conceal the bomb.
Trabelsi was arrested in an Uccle
Uccle
Uccle or Ukkel is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.Uccle is known for its well-to-do areas, its green spots and its high rental rates.-History:...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
apartment, near Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
on September 13, 2001. He was convicted of plotting to attack American soldiers stationed at the Belgian airbase Kleine Brogel
Peer, Belgium
Peer is a municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. On January 1, 2006 Peer had a total population of 15,810. The total area is 86.95 km² which gives a population density of 182 inhabitants per km²....
.
Trabelsi was also implicated by Briton Saajid Badat
Saajid Badat
Saajid Muhammad Badat is a British student, serving a 13-year prison term for planning to blow up an aircraft with a bomb hidden in his shoe...
, who alleged that the two of them had conspired with Richard Reid
Richard Reid (shoe bomber)
Richard Colvin Reid , also known as the Shoe Bomber, is a self-admitted member of al-Qaeda who pled guilty in 2002 in U.S. federal court to eight criminal counts of terrorism stemming from his attempt to destroy a commercial aircraft in-flight by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes...
to simultaneously blow up two US-bound airliners using shoe bombs. Badat withdrew from his part in the conspiracy, and did not take his planned flight. Reid succeeded in boarding American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami on 22 December 2001, and attempted to bomb the plane, but his explosives failed to detonate. Badat was arrested by British police in November 2003 in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. He was subsequently sentenced to 13 years in a UK prison. Reid is serving three life sentences with no possibility of parole in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 2003, Trabelsi was sentenced to a 10-year prison term in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was also found guilty of illegal arms possession and being a member in a private militia.