Tunisian footballer dies after setting himself on fire in front of police station

By Najih al-Zaghdoudi

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.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara