A Tunisian court has sentenced former justice minister and leading figure in Ennahda Islamic movement, Noureddine Bhiri, to 20 years in prison over a case linked to the issuing of forged passports and official citizenship documents to foreign nationals, according to Tunis Afrique Presse on Wednesday.
The investigation began in 2021 and relates to facilitating the acquisition of Tunisian citizenship documents and passports for two Syrian nationals during Bhiri’s time as justice minister.
A specialised counter-terrorism court also sentenced Bhiri and a former security official to 20 years in prison. Six other defendants were also convicted, including four who are outside Tunisia, with sentences ranging from 11 to 30 years.
Bhiri, who served as justice minister between 2011 and 2013, is also being prosecuted alongside dozens of opposition figures in a separate case on charges of plotting against state security. He has already received a 43-year prison sentence in that case.
He has also been sentenced to 10 years in another case on charges of incitement to the authorities, linked to a social media post he is alleged to have written, which he denies any involvement in.
The opposition says the charges are politically motivated and not supported by legal evidence.
