The court has postponed the trial of the former governor of Manouba in the taxi license case
The Criminal Chamber responsible for the financial corruption cases in the Tunisian Primary Court is expected to consider the application for a licence from the defence by the end of next month.
The Criminal Chamber considering the financial corruption cases of the Tunisian Primary Court has decided to postpone the trial of the former governor of Manouba and other ex-officials who represented in case of release in the taxi license case. The decision to postpone was in response to the defence team's request pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the Prosecution's decision to refer the defendants to trial.
The court has charged the accused with exploiting the characteristics of a public servant for violating the administrative arrangements applicable to the issuance of a licence and for obtaining an unfair advantage for himself or others. The case involves allegations of financial and administrative corruption and legal violations in the granting of individual and group taxi licensees during the governor's period of supervision.
The defence team has dismissed the charges against its deputies confirming that the prosecution proceedings against them in this file are not valid. The lawyers demanded that the Court of Cassation wait for the indictment before discussing the origin of the case and prosecuting the accused.
The facts of the file date back to a judicial investigation opened in October 2021 following investigations that included allegations of fraud, embezzlement and transgression of the organized procedure for granting transport licenses between 2011 and 2019. The investigating judge had issued in late October 2021 prison deposition cards for a number of provincial officials before the indictment was released by the Court of Appeal for them during 2022, while the Criminal Chamber had previously issued an absentia sentence of 12 years before the former governor filed a legal objection that restored the case to civic development.
The court has scheduled the next hearing on 30 November 2026 to resume consideration of the case file after the outcome of the defence team's appeal to the Court of Cassation became clear.
