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ALEXANDRIA, Va. 鈥� Nizar Trabelsi, a Tunisian national who was acquitted of terrorism-related charges last year, filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia challenging his prolonged unlawful detention and inhumane treatment by the United States. Mr. Trabelsi is represented by the 老澳门开奖结果, the University of Chicago Law School鈥檚 Immigrants鈥� Rights Clinic, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Virginia, and Professor Jonathan Hafetz of Seton Hall Law School.

In 2013, the United States forcibly extradited Mr. Trabelsi from Belgium to face criminal charges in the United States, where he spent almost 10 years in solitary confinement while in pretrial detention. After being cleared of all charges by a federal jury in July 2023, the U.S. immediately transferred him to immigration detention and wrongly treated him as an applicant for admission awaiting deportation.

In fact, it was the United States that brought Mr. Trabelsi to this country against his will for prosecution over a decade ago. The Belgian government has so far issued two formal diplomatic requests asking the U.S. to facilitate his return to Belgium, but the U.S. has refused. Instead, the government has indicated that it intends to deport him to Tunisia, where he was born, but where he is likely to face torture.

鈥淲e're witnessing the disturbing aftermath of a failed terrorism prosecution, where the government seems intent on punishing our client by any means necessary,鈥� said Brett Max Kaufman, senior staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Center for Democracy. 鈥淛ustice, common sense, and the law demand that the government return him to Belgium and his loved ones.鈥�

As the lawsuit explains, Mr. Trabelsi is kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day, unable to communicate with his family, read books, or practice his religion. These conditions are even more restrictive than those he experienced during his 10-year-long pretrial detention, and his mental and physical health are deteriorating by the day.

鈥淭he government's treatment of Mr. Trabelsi is a grave injustice and a clear violation of his constitutional rights,鈥� said Nicole Hallett, clinical professor of law and director of the Immigrants鈥� Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. 鈥淥ur client鈥檚 ordeal has gone on way too long, and the court needs to step in.鈥�

The lawsuit challenges the government's authority to detain Mr. Trabelsi, arguing that his detention violates the U.S.-Belgium Extradition Treaty, U.S. immigration law, and the Constitution, and that the U.S. government must facilitate his return to Belgium. It also seeks immediate improvements to Mr. Trabelsi's detention conditions.

鈥淢r. Trabelsi鈥檚 inhumane treatment in immigration detention is just the latest in a long string of Immigration and Customs Enforcement鈥檚 violation of both the law and its own policies,鈥� said Sophia Gregg, senior immigrants鈥� rights attorney at 老澳门开奖结果 of Virginia. 鈥淚CE must be held accountable, and Mr. Trabelsi must be afforded the right to return to Belgium as the law requires.鈥�

The complaint in Trabelsi v. Crawford was filed against Jeffrey Crawford, warden of the Farmville Detention Center where Mr. Trabelsi is being held; Liana Castano, ICE field office director for the Washington Field Office; Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; and Merrick Garland, attorney general.