Lazhar Ben Mohamed Tlil

Lazhar Ben Mohamed Tlil is a citizen of Tunis, and longtime resident of Italy.[1][2][3][4][5] After traveling to Italy Tlil committed petty crimes to support a drug habit.

Lazhar Ben Mohamed Tlil
Born1969 (age 50–51)
Tunis
NationalityTunis
Occupationdrug dealer
Known fora petty criminal, in Italy, who attended an Afghan training camp, who agreed to testify against Tunisians captives in Guantanamo

During a period when he was trying to quit his addiction to drugs Tlil traveled to Afghanistan, and received some military training at an Afghan training camp.[1] Upon his return to Italy Tlil returned to crime, and was caught, convicted and sentenced, for petty drug dealing. After al Qaeda's attacks on the Continental United States, on September 11, 2001, his attendance at the Afghan training camp became of acute interest to American security officials. When Italian prison officials allowed American security officials to interrogate him Tlil was able to identify several other Tunisians who were being held in Guantanamo.

Tlil initially agreed to testify against individuals in Guantanamo, either in Italy, or in the United States.[1] Tlil was released in return for his agreement to testify, and was placed in the Italian version of a witness protection program. When Adel Ben Mabrouk and Mohamed Ben Riadh Nasri, two Tunisians who also had a record of committing petty crimes in Italy, who had been captured in Afghanistan, and had spent seven years in extrajudicial detention in Guantanamo, were transferred to Italy, Italian prosecutor Elio Ramondini said it would be "impossible" to convict them without Tlil's testimony.[4]

According to reports from the Associated Press, from November and December 2009, while Lazhar had been willing to serve as a witness against the men, he had recently indicated that he might no longer cooperate, because he is unhappy with how Italy's witness protection program is administered.[1]

The Associated Press reported he was also being considered as a possible witness against some of the senior al Qaeda captives who were then expected to face trial in the USA.[1]

In 2012 Tlil was profiled in the news again, as a vocal critic of Italy's witness protection program.[6]

References
  1. Victor L. Simpson, Colleen Barry (2009-11-14). "Witness in Italy may hold key to Guantanamo trials". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2009-11-16.
  2. "Tunisian May Hold Key to Guantanamo Trials". CBS News. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2015-09-27. Tlil's Italian court-appointed lawyer says he has already provided important details to a team of U.S. investigators and identified from photos fellow Tunisian trainees in the Afghan camps. While the cases are confidential, authorities say he also has provided important information to the Italians about several detainees at Guantanamo who might be brought to Italy and tried in a criminal court.
  3. Victor L. Simpson (2009-12-01). "Italy may accept more Gitmo detainees". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2015-09-27. Lazhar Ben Mohamed Tlil, a key prosecution witness, said Nasri, known by his alias Abou Doujana, was head of an organization of Tunisians at a camp in Afghanistan where recruits received both ideological and military training. It was at this camp, the witness said, that he and other recruits were taught that “to kill infidels was the duty of every Muslim” and were prepared to carry out suicide attacks.
  4. "Testigo en Italia sería clave para juicios de Guantánamo" [Witness in Italy would be key to Guantanamo trials] (in Spanish). El Mexicano. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2015-09-27. "Si me preguntan sobre su importancia como testigo, les diría que es importante para mí", dijo el fiscal Elio Ramondini recientemente a la Associated Press en una entrevista en su despacho en el palacio de justicia de Milán. Sin Tlil, el juicio a los sospechosos de Guantánamo en Italia "no es difícil, sino imposible", aseguró.
  5. Victor L. Simpson (2009-12-01). "Italy's Gitmo detainees linked to al-Qaida base". Contra Costa Times. Archived from the original on 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2015-09-27. Lazhar Ben Mohamed Tlil, a key prosecution witness, said Nasri, known by his alias Abou Doujana, was head of an organization of Tunisians at a camp in Afghanistan where recruits received both ideological and military training. It was at this camp, the witness said, that he and other recruits were taught that "to kill infidels was the duty of every Muslim" and were prepared to carry out suicide attacks.
  6. Victor L. Simpson (2012-10-14). "Italy's secret anti-mob weapon: witness protection". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 2015-09-27. Lazhar Ben Mohamed Tlil, a Tunisian who became an Islamic militant and was trained in Afghanistan to kill Americans, who entered the witness protection program after providing information to Italian investigators about several detainees at Guantanamo, his court-appointed lawyer, Davide Boschi, told The Associated Press.
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