Tunisian footballer dies after setting himself on fire in front of police station
KAIROUAN, Tunis (AA) – A Tunisian footballer lost his life a few days after setting himself on fire in front of a police station in the northern Kairouan province, local media reported.
Nizar al-Issawi, 35, died at a hospital late Thursday due to third-degree burns he sustained after pouring gasoline on his body and setting it aflame in Haffouz city on Monday, according to Radio Mosaique.
Al-Issawi posted a video on his Facebook account shortly before he set himself on fire, explaining that he was “unjustly accused in a terrorism case” after going to the police station to file a complaint against a banana trader with whom he had a falling out.
“I wanted to draw the police’s attention to the fact that one of the vendors violated the law, selling bananas at a price higher than the government-set price. My punishment was that they accused me of terrorism and implicated me in a case in which I had nothing to do,” he said.
Dozens of al-Issawi’s relatives took to the streets of Haffouz to express their anger, according to witnesses.
Al-Issawi played in several sports clubs in Tunisia, including Union Sportive Monastirienne and EGS Gafsa.
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