A Tunisian appeal raises the prison sentence of Bahari and my country to 25 years

The Special Criminal Chamber for Terrorism Cases at the Court of Appeal of Tunisia today, 12 November 2026, has decided to convict the accused in what is known as the case of passport fraud with increased penalties. The court has lifted the prison sentences for Ennahdha Movement leader Nooruddin Bahari and former municipal security official Fatih Municipal to 25 years each.

The case involved allegations of confiscating passports and travel documents, granting Tunisian citizenship and handing them over to foreigners pursued in terrorist cases in illegal ways. The court's decision came after deliberations by the judiciary to consider appeals against earlier preliminary rulings in this case.

The trial was conducted via remote trial technology from the courtroom of Mornaguia's civil prison. The hearing witnessed the boycott of the main defendants, after Noor al-Din Bahari refused to appear before the court from inside their detention facility.

The court decided to sentence former prime minister Hamadi al-Jalali, a former judge and a third defendant from the case file now. This action comes pending a judicial decision on the appeal to the Court of Cassation against the decision of the Prosecutor's Office to refer them to the Criminal Chamber for Terrorism.