Belgium’s highest court ordered the immediate release of former Tunisian international footballer Nizar Trabelsi on 22 October 2025, ending a legal saga that spanned a quarter-century and multiple extraditions. Trabelsi had been held at the Merksplas closed detention centre for undocumented migrants since his return from the United States in August 2025.
The Court dismissed federal appeals against earlier lower-court rulings that detention lacked legal basis because all criminal sentences had been served. Lawyers argued that continued confinement violated both Belgian constitutional protections and the EU Returns Directive, which limits administrative detention to 18 months.
Immigration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt said the ruling demonstrates the ‘legal straight-jacket’ in which Belgium operates, reiterating calls for quicker EU-level procedures to deport security-risk foreigners. Human-rights groups welcomed the decision, noting that Belgium has faced condemnation from the European Court of Human Rights in six detention-length cases since 2020.
From a global-mobility perspective the judgment may set precedent limiting the duration of administrative detention for overstayers and failed asylum seekers. Employers sponsoring third-country nationals should monitor possible legislative changes tightening initial admissibility to offset reduced detention leverage.
Trabelsi, now 54, plans to seek compensation; the federal Justice Service estimated potential damages at €600,000—funds that could add pressure on the migration budget already stretched by rising asylum applications.
The Court dismissed federal appeals against earlier lower-court rulings that detention lacked legal basis because all criminal sentences had been served. Lawyers argued that continued confinement violated both Belgian constitutional protections and the EU Returns Directive, which limits administrative detention to 18 months.
Immigration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt said the ruling demonstrates the ‘legal straight-jacket’ in which Belgium operates, reiterating calls for quicker EU-level procedures to deport security-risk foreigners. Human-rights groups welcomed the decision, noting that Belgium has faced condemnation from the European Court of Human Rights in six detention-length cases since 2020.
From a global-mobility perspective the judgment may set precedent limiting the duration of administrative detention for overstayers and failed asylum seekers. Employers sponsoring third-country nationals should monitor possible legislative changes tightening initial admissibility to offset reduced detention leverage.
Trabelsi, now 54, plans to seek compensation; the federal Justice Service estimated potential damages at €600,000—funds that could add pressure on the migration budget already stretched by rising asylum applications.
