The criminal chamber specializing in terrorism cases at the Court of First Instance of Tunis refused the requests for release presented for several accused in the so-called “secret device” case of the Ennahdha movement, according to Mosaïque FM. The examination of the file has been postponed until next January.
More than thirty defendants concerned
The case concerns more than thirty defendants, including several leading figures of the party. Among the detained defendants cited are Rached Ghannouchi, Ali Laârayedh, Fathi Beldi, Kamel Bedoui as well as Atef Omrani, according to the same source. Other defendants are being prosecuted while at large or on the run.
During the hearing, some defendants refused to appear in court. This was the case of Rached Ghannouchi, who continues to boycott the hearings.
Defense attorneys submitted requests for release for several defendants, accompanied by procedural motions.
At the end of the deliberations, the criminal chamber decided to reject all the requests for release and to postpone the examination of the case until January.
Reminder of the facts
The case concerns the supposed existence of a clandestine apparatus linked to the Ennahdha movement, accused by the civil party of having operated in parallel with state security institutions and of having constituted a network of internal influence. Several complaints and procedures have been initiated, giving rise to investigations, hearings, indictments and arrest warrants targeting both political leaders and former security officials.
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