“Dark room” case: Justice postpones the examination until January 16, 2026

The Criminal Chamber of the Tunis Court of Appeal has decided to postpone the examination of the so-called “dark room” file of the Ministry of the Interior until January 16, 2026. This decision follows a request from the defense, which wishes to have more time to consult the entire file. The defendants’ requests for release were rejected.

According to a judicial source, the appeal court granted the request of the defense lawyers, who claim that they have not yet been able to analyze all the documents in the case. This postponement aims to allow them to prepare their arguments before the next hearing.

At the same time, the Court rejected the requests for release filed by the defendants, confirming their continued detention.

This sensitive case dates back to last May, when the Criminal Chamber of the Ariana Court of First Instance sentenced eight defendants – including former security executives – to eight years of imprisonment. Three of them, on the run, were the subject of an immediate execution order.

The charges relate to the manipulation of evidence: appropriation, concealment, destruction or modification of judicial documents, as well as the falsification of public archives entrusted to agents of the authority.

Persistent pressure from lawyers of the Belaïd and Brahmi families

The case remains strongly linked to the assassinations of Chokri Belaïd and Mohamed Brahmi, killed in 2013.

The lawyers of the two political figures affirm that the documents seized in the sealed office of the ministry implicate Mustapha Khedher, presented as involved in activities of an intelligence-related nature.

The defense is demanding the lifting of the seal on the “dark room”, full access to its contents, as well as the declassification of documents that it considers essential to advance the Belaïd and Brahmi files. She also denounces what she describes as “persistent protection” of a parallel structure that she considers involved in the assassinations.

A case inherited from a discovery in 2013

The investigation began after the discovery of a large batch of documents in a sealed office at the Ministry of the Interior.

Already in 2013, a search of Mustapha Khedher’s home led to the seizure of documents that the defense says they found partially in the “dark room”.

This affair has crystallized for years tensions between defense, judicial apparatus and security institutions, around accusations of obstruction, concealment and opaque management of sensitive archives.

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