The Indictment Chamber decided to refer the former president of the IVD, former minister Mabrouk Korchid, as well as two other people, to the Specialized Criminal Chamber for a case linked to a reconciliation initiative.
In Tunis, the Indictment Chamber specializing in financial corruption cases ordered, this Thursday, November 27, the referral of several public figures to criminal justice.
Among them are Sihem Bensedrine, former president of the Truth and Dignity Commission, and the former Minister of State Property, Mabrouk Korchid. The proceedings relate to a reconciliation process undertaken for the benefit of a businessman, and now examined as a potential abuse.
Charged facts
According to the decision of the Indictment Chamber at the Tunis Court of Appeal, four people are referred to the Specialized Criminal Chamber: Sihem Bensedrine, former president of the IVD; Mabrouk Korchid, former minister, currently on the run; a lawyer; a businessman directly affected by the reconciliation initiative.
The case concerns a procedure launched by the IVD as part of transitional justice, aimed at concluding a financial reconciliation agreement with an economic operator being prosecuted. Investigators believe that certain steps in this initiative could constitute legal overreach or privileged treatment. The case was transferred to the specialized criminal judge for in-depth indictment.
A busy file around the IVD
The Truth and Dignity Commission, dissolved in 2019, has long been at the center of controversies concerning the management of its archives, its reparation decisions and especially its financial reconciliation mechanisms.
The initiatives targeting businessmen had sparked political and legal clashes, with some seeing it as a path to settlement, others as a violation of the law. This referral comes after several years of investigations and hearings.
Last September, the indictment chamber specializing in financial corruption cases at the Tunis Court of Appeal decided to refer Sihem Bensedrine and Mabrouk Korchid to the criminal chamber for financial corruption cases, in the context of two cases linked to the activities of the Truth and Dignity Authority (IVD).
The first case concerned a conciliation agreement concluded with the Tunisian resident in France Abdelmajid Boudin, as part of the Franco-Tunisian Bank case. The indictment chamber had decided to issue a committal warrant against him in this case.
The second case concerned a conciliation agreement concluded by the Truth and Dignity Commission with Slim Chiboub, with a refusal to release him.
Sihem Bensedrine was placed in pre-trial detention on August 1, 2024 in connection with a case linked to accusations of forgery, falsification, abuse of power and undue advantages in relation to the final report of the IVD, in particular on the aspect of the Franco-Tunisian Bank. She began a hunger strike in January 2025 to denounce what she considered to be judicial harassment. On February 19, 2025, the Tunisian justice system finally ordered his release.
For his part, Mabrouk Korchid, former Minister of State Property and Land Affairs, was prosecuted in a separate case also linked to the activities of the IVD.
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