The Criminal Chamber specializing in terrorism cases sentenced Bilel Chaouachi to 55 years in prison for his involvement in terrorist organizations, including Ansar Al-Sharia and Daesh, reports Mosaique fm. This sentence follows his activities in Syria and his role in recruiting and training jihadists.
Bilel Chaouachi, also known as “Abou Yahya Zakaria”, was convicted of “membership in a terrorist organization outside the national territory, formation of an association abroad to commit terrorist crimes and use of Tunisian territory to recruit individuals linked to terrorism”. Court files reveal his active involvement in Jabhat Al-Nusra and then Daesh in Syria, where he participated in combat and served as spokesperson.
Registration on terrorist lists
The Ministry of the Interior had included Chaouachi on the list of terrorists in 2019. The National Commission to Combat Terrorism had also frozen his assets and economic resources to limit his ability to finance or coordinate terrorist actions. His trajectory illustrates the threat that Tunisian recruiters represented for international jihadist organizations.
Overwhelming evidence
Among the elements retained by the courts, a video shows Chaouachi after the suicide attack targeting a Presidential Guard bus in Tunis on November 24, 2016, in which he explicitly threatens Tunisians with new attacks. He was also confirmed as an official spokesperson for Daesh, reinforcing the seriousness of the accusations and the justification for the sentence imposed.
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