A Tunisian court sentenced the former Minister of Justice and leader in the Ennahda Movement, Nour Eldeen Elbehairy, to 20 years in prison in a case of "facilitating the granting of passports and nationalities to foreign persons," according to official media.
The Tunisian News Agency reported from a judicial source, who was not named, that today, Wednesday, the criminal division specializing in terrorism cases at the Primary Court in Tunisia issued, on Tuesday, prison sentences ranging between 11 and 30 years against Elbehairy and others in what is known as the "fabricated passports and nationalities case."
The judicial source clarified that the preliminary sentences involved imprisoning both Elbehairy and the former security official Fathi Baladi for a period of 20 years, while absentee sentences of 30 years with immediate effect were issued against Moaz Alkharji, son of the head of the Ennahda Movement Rached Ghannouchi, and three other defendants "in a state of flight," without naming them.
The court also sentenced two other unnamed defendants to 11 years in prison, with all defendants subjected to administrative surveillance for 5 years.
The court dismissed the name of former Prime Minister Hammadi Jebali from the list of defendants in this case, according to the same source.
"Immediate Effect"
These sentences are subject to appeal, but they are accompanied by a decision of "immediate effect," which means starting the implementation of the prison sentence immediately without waiting for a final verdict.
The case involves suspicions of "fabricating and falsifying passports and nationality documents and delivering them to foreigners involved in terrorist cases" during the period Elbehairy held the position of justice minister in 2012, charges which he and his defense team categorically deny.
The Tunisian News Agency stated that the roots of the case go back to a Syrian man and his wife obtaining two Tunisian passports from the Tunisian embassy in Vienna between 1982 and 1984, which Elbehairy uses to emphasize that the file dates back to previous eras.
Since February 2023, authorities have detained a number of opposition politicians, lawyers, and civil society activists, charging them with offenses including "attempting to undermine public order and state security," "conspiring with foreign entities," "inciting chaos or rebellion," and "money laundering," while the defendants' lawyers deny the validity of these accusations.
Prominent figures pursued judicially include the head of the Ennahda Movement Rached Ghannouchi, head of the National Salvation Front Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, leader in the Ennahda Movement Nour Eldeen Elbehairy, former Minister to the Presidential Office Reda Belhaj, Secretary-General of the Republican Party Issam Chebbi, and former Minister Ghazi Chaouachi.
While the authorities assert that they respect the independence of the judiciary, and that the measures taken are done according to law without political interference, opposition forces believe that the government is oppressive against opponents, lawyers, judges, and activists.
