Minister Van Bossuyt outraged by Trabelsi’s release: “We’re up against a judicial wall”

Minister for Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt has responded with deep concern and frustration to the court ruling that forces her to release convicted terrorist Nizar Trabelsi. The minister stressed that she exhausted every legal avenue to keep him in detention, but the recent decision by the Court of Cassation leaves no alternative but to end his confinement.

“We did everything we could to keep Nizar Trabelsi in a closed detention centre pending his removal to Tunisia, but we’ve hit a judicial wall. As minister, my hands are tied: court rulings prevent me from keeping him in custody or sending him back to his country of origin.”

Close security monitoring

Although an effective removal is currently impossible—partly due to pending identification by Tunisia—Trabelsi will be closely monitored by security services.

“Our priority is to ensure that this man doesn’t pose a renewed threat to public safety while awaiting his return to Tunisia. At the same time, we’re keeping diplomatic channels with Tunisia open to make that return possible,” said Anneleen Van Bossuyt.

A gap between law and reality

The minister calls the situation “incomprehensible and alarming,” and says she fully understands the public’s concern.

“This is someone who deliberately threatened our society and was convicted for it. And yet we’re forced to release him because judges apply an extremely broad interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights—without considering the wider public interest.

The safety of our citizens should always outweigh the rights of someone who is in Belgium illegally. The fact that it doesn’t is something I find extremely difficult to accept as a minister,” Van Bossuyt concluded.