Conspirators Against Tunisia’s Security… Heavy Sentences for the Brotherhood and Their Allies
Harsh sentences have been issued against Brotherhood-affiliated leaders in Tunisia, also affecting their allies and supporters in the case related to conspiring against state security.
Early on Friday, the Tunisian judiciary announced its appellate rulings against the accused Brotherhood leaders, their allies, and their supporters, following a session that began on Thursday and continued for several hours.
The sentences for those in detention range from ten to forty-five years in prison, while the court dismissed the case against one detained defendant.
For the defendants released pending trial, the sentences ranged from five to thirty-five years in prison, with the court dismissing the case against two of them.
For those who are fugitives, the court upheld the initial sentences of thirty-three years in prison with immediate enforcement, increasing some of these sentences to forty-three years with immediate enforcement.
Some defendants were also ordered to pay financial fines of varying amounts and had their assets confiscated, including funds held in their possession or deposited in accounts within Tunisian financial institutions.
In April, the Tunisian judiciary had issued rulings against around forty individuals after convicting them of conspiring against the internal and external security of the state, forming a terrorist-linked group, and joining it.
Among those convicted are prominent figures from the Ennahdha movement,
including former Minister of Justice under the Brotherhood-led government, Noureddine Bhiri, who received a forty-three-year prison sentence.
Another notable figure, Abdelhamid Jlassi, a former senior leader within the movement, was sentenced to thirteen years.
Eighteen-year sentences were also handed to Issam Chebbi, a leader of the pro-Brotherhood Alliance Front, and to Jawhar Ben Mbarek, another leading figure in the same front.
Case Details
The case dates back to February 2023, when Tunisian authorities arrested a group of prominent political figures accused of conspiring against state security.
Investigations revealed that on January 27, 2023, the defendants attempted to overthrow the government by inflaming social tensions and creating nighttime chaos, while exploiting certain individuals inside the presidential palace.
However, Tunisian security and intelligence services managed to thwart the plot by monitoring their phone calls, communications, and movements. It emerged that Khayam Turki, the figure chosen by the Brotherhood as a potential successor to President Kais Saied, served as the main link among the parties involved in the plan.
Brotherhood leaders reportedly met at the home of Khayam Turki, a political activist and the Brotherhood’s proposed candidate for the 2019 government, joined by businessman Kamel Ltaïef—described by some Tunisian media as “the man of intrigues”—as well as diplomats and other businessmen, in the northern suburb of Sidi Bou Said.
The case involves politicians, businessmen, journalists, and diplomats. Recorded phone calls revealed communications with individuals inside the presidential palace in Carthage aiming to topple the regime.
The group had also planned to stir public unrest under the pretext of rising prices and control over food supplies.
