Identity Theft Victim Repeatedly Arrested for Crimes He Didn’t Commit

Sulayman claims to have reported the loss of his identity card in April 2021. But in May 2022, he was arrested by the police at Zaventem airport, just as he was about to board with his wife, their son and friends for a vacation in Istanbul. Taken to the Midi police station, he is accused of drug trafficking. "I was in a cell for hours. It was horrible! I was only released the next day," he tells La Libre.

Since then, the arrests have multiplied. "Two months later, I underwent a new interrogation, this time at the request of the organized crime section of the Brussels PJF. I was accused this time of having rented cars as part of a trafficking by a criminal organization. On September 27 last, it was at my home that they came to search. The police arrived at 10 to conduct an investigation related to the Sky operation, in an Antwerp part. I was deprived of my freedom again," Sulayman indignantly, who has always told the police that there is a case of mistaken identity.

"I was arrested a total of four times! Every morning, I expect them to raid my home! I no longer know how to be serene. Fortunately for me, my employer is very understanding, but I have to take leave each time, etc. It’s becoming unlivable, both for me and for my loved ones," the young man laments, also prosecuted for non-payment of 38,000 euros in rent for a warehouse he has never rented.

His lawyer, Me Edouard Huysmans, has taken all the necessary steps for the Belgian justice system to recognize him as a victim of identity theft in the context of these four cases. "I choose to denounce what is happening to me so that the criminals know that they can no longer use my identity at will and that the police can access this information in open source, in order to avoid a fifth arrest," he says.