January 29, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The French magistrate renowned for prosecuting international terrorists such as "Carlos the Jackal" and for his attempts to warn the United States of threats prior to 9/11 will give a free lecture at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Saturday, Feb. 6.

Jean-Louis Bruguière, who led the Paris District Court's counterterrorism unit from 1987 to 2007, will discuss the partnership between the United States and France to combat terrorism in his lecture "Transatlantic Cooperation in the Fight Against Terrorism."  Bruguière also will outline ways to improve cooperation between the United States, France and the European Union after what he says has been an abandonment of the "War on Terror" concept.

The lecture, sponsored by the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and Alliance Française of Birmingham, will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 in UAB Humanities Building Room 105, 900 13th St. South. Call 205-934-8902 for more details.

During his time with the French counterterrorism unit, Bruguière investigated hundreds of suspected terrorists, including the infamous Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, aka "Carlos the Jackal," who is best remembered for his takeover of OPEC headquarters in Vienna at a 1975 conference during which he took 11 members hostage.

Bruguière is credited for his role in helping to foil Islamic radicals' plans to attack the World Cup in 1998 and the Strasbourg Cathedral in France in 2000. He also is known for his attempts to warn the United States before Sept. 11, 2001, of possible Islamic attacks.

Bruguière is the author of the book, What I Could Not Say: Thirty Years of Fighting Terrorism.

About the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

The UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers a full range of language, culture, literature and civilization courses that are designed to help students to understand the diverse global challenges of today.