Day: April 2, 2024

_: The defence committee in the case of the assassination of Chokri Belaid said files of the case are still open and will not be closed until all those involved are held accountable”.

They announced that they would appeal against the first instance verdict issued on March 26 against 23 defendants, following an appeal lodged on Monday by the Tunisian Bar Association and the Unified Democratic Patriots Party as the civil party.

During a press conference held at the Lawyers’ House on Tuesday, entitled “The verdict and its consequences”, defence lawyer Koutheir Bouallegue recalled that the verdict had only been issued for the execution group.

The splitting of the case into two files (one relating to the planning, monitoring and recruitment group and the other to the execution group) was decided by the investigating judge on June 14, 2014 and was beyond the control of the defence, he added.

The Tunis Court of First Instance will start the trial of part of the “monitoring and recruitment group” and part of the
“ensuring impunity group”, known as the “Fethi Dammak file”, for the first time on April 30, Bouallegue added.

The case concerns the planning of the assassination of a group of politicians, media professionals and national figures, including the martyr Chokri Belaid.

The case involves several members of Ennahdha, including Taher Boubahri (Ali Larayedh’s advisor), Mustapha Kedhr, Kamel Aifi, Hichem Cherbib, Ali Ferchichi and Belhassen Nakkach, as well as three senior Interior Ministry officials.

It was also announced that 35 defendants belonging to “Ennahdha’s secret apparatus” and security chiefs will be referred to the anti-terrorism court, following a lawsuit filed by the Unified Democratic Patriots Party, the Popular Current Party and the family of martyr Mohamed Brahmi.

The defendants in the case include Rached Ghannouchi, Samir Hannachi, Fethi Beldi, Kamel Aifi and Kamel Bedoui, Rached Ghannouchi’s security adviser, ‘whose contacts with Bechir Akremi and Sofien Sliti have been proven,’ according to B
ouallegue.

The same source recalled that Mustapha Kedhr was sentenced in absentia to a first prison term in the case of the martyr Chokri Belaid, and is accused, along with Amer Balazi and Mohamed Akkari, in the case of the assassination of Mohamed Brahmi, for which a hearing has been set for April 5.

Lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi reviewed the main data regarding the verdict and the convicts, recalling that the first 13 sessions began on June 30, 2015 and the last on March 26, 2024.

He provided data on the number of those convicted in the case, out of 23 defendants belonging to the Ansar al-Sharia organisation, which can be divided into five groups that had points of contact and communication, mostly through mosques, the most important of which is the Al-Rahma mosque in the Khadra neighbourhood.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The defence team for Abir Moussi, president of the Free Destourian Party (PDL), has filed a complaint with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) against “the parties that deprived Moussi of her liberty”.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Defence Committee said that this measure was taken in application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Tunisia, which allows Tunisian citizens to refer any violation of their rights and freedoms to the competent United Nations institutions.

After the expiry of the maximum period of pre-trial detention, Abir Moussi is now being held without valid judicial authorisation in connection with the case known as the “registry office”, the Defence Committee noted.

No decision has been taken to extend her detention in accordance with Article 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the collective said.

For Moussi’s lawyers, these violations are part of “a manifest desire to trample on the fundamental rights” of the President of
the PDL.

They warned of the consequences of Abir Moussi’s “illegal” detention on the legitimacy of the forthcoming presidential elections, given that she is the PDL candidate.

On October 5, 2023, the judge at the Tunis Court of First Instance issued a detention order for Abir Moussi in connection with the “registry office” affair.

The PDL President was the subject of a further detention order on February 21, 2024, under Article 24 of Decree 54 on offences relating to information systems, following a complaint against her by the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE).

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Accountability is a popular demand and there is no room for tolerance, not even for a single dime, President Kais Saied stressed during a meeting with the head of the National Committee for Penal Reconciliation, Mechket Slama, at the Carthage Palace on Tuesday.

He added that those who want to prolong the procedures and resort to test after test in order to reduce the value of the sums to be paid will not be given another chance and will have to accept their full responsibility before the judiciary.

The President of the Republic was informed of the progress of the work of this committee following the amendment of the text under which it was created and the appointment of new members.

Kais Saied also reiterated his firm position on the purpose behind the creation of this committee, which is genuine reconciliation based on justice and the recovery of funds looted from the Tunisian people.

He said that those who sincerely seek reconciliation must fulfil their will to return to their activities in «safe
ty, free from any blackmail by any party.» And “those who still believe that they can escape accountability will find no alternative to a just judiciary and will not imagine that falling into the arms of any party at home or abroad will help or support them”.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Tunisia on Tuesday strongly condemned the bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus by the Zionist occupation forces, which resulted in a number of casualties, describing it as a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and a flagrant breach of all international conventions and agreements.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad, Tunisia warned that the Zionist entity’s persistent violation of international law and its free hand to widen the circle of war in the region will lead to serious consequences that threaten peace and security not only in the Middle East but in the entire world.

Tunisia reiterated its support for and solidarity with the Syrian Arab Republic against any aggression targeting its security, stability and territorial integrity and expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the Islamic Republic of At least five people were killed in the Zionist attack that targeted the Iranian consulate bu
ilding in Damascus, Iran and the families of the victims, Iranian Ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari announced on Monday.

“The Zionist enemy launched an air aggression from the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting the Iranian consulate building in Damascus,” Syrian news agency SANA reported, citing a military source.

“The aggression led to the destruction of the entire building and the martyrdom and injury of all those inside,” the source added.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: President of the Republic Kais Saied called for the fight against monopolies, price hikes and the elimination of criminal networks when he met on Tuesday evening at the Carthage Palace with Interior Minister Kamel Feki, Director of National Security General Mourad Saidane and Director General and Commander of the National Guard Hassine Gharbi.

“Crises are created almost every day in this or that sector or region,” he said, according to a statement released by the Presidency of the Republic.

He stressed the need to dismantle the networks that, as the frequency of events shows, coordinate with each other and whose aim, now that their goal of dismantling the state and their plan have been thwarted, is to inflame the social situation by all means and methods.

Kais Saied stressed that the sacred national duty requires all efforts to eliminate these criminal networks, because they are committing acts that are punishable by law and cannot remain without accountability and punishment.

Source: Agence Tunis
Afrique Presse