The specialized criminal chamber of the Tunis Court of Appeal resumes, this Monday, November 17, the examination of the “plot against state security” case. After a first hearing postponed at the end of October, the defense returned with a series of requests, in particular against the use of remote trial.
The court must also hear the accused who have been released and rule on several requests for release. This appeal trial follows heavy sentences handed down in April 2025, ranging from 4 to 66 years in prison.
A resumption of hearing under high procedural tension
The first appearance of the case before the Court of Appeal, on October 27, was cut short. The lawyers had denounced “irregularities” linked in particular to the incomplete summons of certain defendants left at large and to the decision to impose videoconferencing for detainees.
The postponement until November 17 was decided to allow the physical appearance of the accused concerned and to examine the motions contesting the procedure.
Today, the Court will have to respond to several requests from the defense, which insists on the need for a trial in the presence of all the defendants and contests the use of videoconferencing, deemed to violate the rights of the defense. Requests for release should also be reviewed.
A file inherited from the first judgment of April 2025
At first instance, the courts sentenced 37 people to sentences ranging from four to sixty-six years in prison, for particularly serious charges: conspiracy against the internal and external security of the State, formation of or adherence to an agreement of a terrorist nature, acts classified as terrorist.
For accused persons on the run, judgments remain immediately enforceable. Three other defendants have not yet been tried, their cases still being in the hands of the Court of Cassation, which is examining parallel proceedings.
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