24-Year Sentence for Ali Larayedh in Human Trafficking Case
The Tunisian judiciary has sentenced brothers Nabil and Ghazi Karoui to 12 years in prison with financial penalties in cases related to financial and administrative corruption.
On Friday, the Tunisian Court of Appeal handed former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh a 24-year prison sentence on charges of facilitating the travel of Tunisians to Syria “to commit terrorist crimes” over the past decade. The criminal chamber specializing in financial corruption cases at the Court of First Instance sentenced the brothers Nabil and Ghazi Karoui – the former a presidential candidate, the latter a former member of parliament – to 12 years in prison with immediate effect in corruption cases, according to the official Tunisian news agency.
Ali Larayedh, a senior figure in the opposition party Ennahdha, served as Prime Minister in 2013 and 2014 during a turbulent period following the 2011 Tunisian revolution.
After the revolution, hundreds of Tunisians traveled to Syria, Iraq, and Libya to join and fight with the Islamic State. At the time, the Ennahdha party faced sharp criticism for allegedly facilitating these travels during its governance, an accusation the party has repeatedly and firmly denied.
Arrested since 2022, Larayedh told the court during his trial on Thursday: “I am innocent. I am subjected to injustice, persecution, and denial.” The case involves eight defendants, including former officials from the Ministry of Interior.
According to a judicial official cited by the official news agency, sentences for the eight individuals ranged from three to twenty-four years. In May, the Court of First Instance had previously sentenced Larayedh to 34 years in prison in the same case.
Last year, the Ennahdha movement denied the terrorism-related accusations, describing the case as politically motivated and part of a campaign against the opposition after President Kais Saied consolidated extensive powers in 2021, dissolving Parliament and ruling by decree.
The judiciary also sentenced the Karoui brothers to 12 years in prison with immediate effect in a financial and administrative corruption case, accompanied by financial fines.
In 2024, a default judgment sentenced Nabil Karoui to three years in prison for receiving funds from foreign sources during the 2019 presidential elections. Nabil Karoui had been Saied’s rival in the second round of the 2019 elections and has faced multiple corruption charges, including exploiting charitable organizations for political gain.
In related corruption cases, the criminal chamber specializing in financial corruption at the Court of First Instance in Tunis also sentenced Mohamed Bouanane, president of the National Chamber of Bakers, to 24 years in prison for monopoly practices, speculation on subsidized food products, and illicit gains. Other defendants in the same case received 13-year prison sentences each.
