Tunisia: Final 15-Year Prison Sentence for an Islamist Leader on Money Laundering Charges

---

The Tunisian judiciary upheld the initial ruling sentencing Sahbi Atig, a leader of the Ennahdha movement affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, to 15 years in prison for money laundering.

The criminal chamber of the Court of Appeal of Tunis also confirmed the initial sentences against four other defendants in the case, ranging from one to fifteen years in prison, along with varying financial penalties for all five accused.

• As the election date approaches… Muslim Brotherhood in Tun

• Who is Noureddine Bhiri, the mastermind of the Muslim Brotherhood in Tunisia, accused in the travel case after being sentenced?

The charges involve forming a group for the purpose of money laundering, illegally holding foreign currency, and inducing someone to give false testimony.

On May 6, 2023, Tunisian authorities arrested Sahbi Atig as he attempted to travel to Turkey via Tunis‑Carthage airport under the pretext of attending a scientific conference.

Atig has been implicated in cases of corruption and illegal seizure of agricultural lands. He is considered one of the leading figures of the Muslim Brotherhood in Tunisia and had previously threatened to “drag opponents of Ennahdha through the streets.”

• Saied is determined to eliminate the Muslim Brotherhood in Tunisia… Details 

• Painful end for the Brotherhood in Tunisia… demands to dissolve Ennahdha movement after the arrest of Ghannouchi

Who is Sahbi Atig?

He began his political career in 1975 by joining the “Islamic Group,” then the “Islamic Trend” movement, which later became Ennahdha.

He was first imprisoned in 1987 but received a general pardon in 1991.

However, this freedom was short-lived, as he was arrested again the same year and sentenced in 1992 by a military court in Tunis to life imprisonment.

Atig served 15 years in prison, including four years in solitary confinement, before his sentence was reduced.

• The leaders of the Brotherhood in Tunisia before the judiciary.. The start of the investigations of “Deportation of Terrorist”

• After the failure of the Brotherhood in Tunisia.. Is Kais Saied ending the legacy of Ennahdha and its corruption?

After 2011, he ran as an Ennahdha candidate for the Tunisian Constituent Assembly in the elections on October 23, 2011, and won a seat.

Following the inaugural session of the assembly on November 22, 2011, he was appointed head of the Ennahdha parliamentary bloc and served until December 2, 2014.

He also ran for the Assembly of the Representatives of the People in the same constituency in the elections of October 26, 2014, and won a seat for Ennahdha.

Atig is a member of what is known as the “International Union of Muslim Scholars.”

• Ghannouchi before the courts… Terrorism Surrounds the Head of the Brotherhood in Tunisia

• The Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood in Exile… Politics Without the Street or Legitimacy