Djamel Beghal

Who is Djamel Beghal?

Djamel Beghal is a French Algerian man convicted of terrorism.

In 28 July 2001, he was arrested at Dubai International Airport while transferring from a flight from Pakistan to a flight to Europe; he held a false French passport.

Beghal confessed to UAE authorities that he was conspiring to destroy the U.S. embassy in Paris. The confession doomed the plot. After he was extradited to France on September 30, Beghal retracted part of his statement, saying that it had been made under duress.

In October 2001, Beghal told Jean-Louis Bruguière, a magistrate, that he visited Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and planned a suicide bomb attack.

In March 2005 French authorities convicted Beghal and five others for planning the attacks. Beghal began a 10 year sentence. With time already served, the prison system is primed to release Beghal in 2011.