Tunisia's appeal raises the sentence of Noor-Din Bahari and opens the municipality to 25 years in prison

The Criminal Chamber for Terrorism Cases at the Court of Appeal in Tunis, on the evening of Thursday 12 November 2026, decided to ease the prison sentence imposed on former Minister of Justice and Ennahdha Movement leader Noor Al-Din Bahiri, and former adviser to Interior Ministry Municipal Fatih, from 20 to 25 years imprisonment each. The court order ensures that the persons concerned are placed under administrative supervision for five years after their sentences have been served.

The case includes accusations of tampering with documents and passports and granting Tunisian citizenship to foreigners wanted in terrorism cases. The decisions included support for 11 years in prison sentences for 2 defendants, as well as support for negative sentences to 30 years' imprisonment for 4 fugitive defendants, including Maaz Ghanoshi.

The end of the trial took place remotely via visual communication technology from Mornaguia's civil prison, amid a recording of the refusal of both Noor al-Din Bahari and the municipal opening before the court to follow up on the facts of the hearing.

The court body decided to arrest former government head Hamadi al-Jabali, along with a former judge and a third defendant from the current case file, pending an outcome in their appeals before the Court of Cassation.