The Criminal Chamber of the Tunis Court of Appeal decided on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, to reserve judgment on release requests and to set a later hearing date in the high-profile Instalingo case, which involves several political figures, bloggers, business leaders and former senior officials.
All detained defendants were brought before the court, including former spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior Mohamed Ali Aroui, former Minister of Investment Riadh Bettaieb, several bloggers, journalist Chedha Haj Mbarek, and Abdelkarim Slimane, treasurer of the association “Namaa Tounes”
Absences Noted During the Hearing
The session was marked by the absence of Rached Ghannouchi, president of the Ennahdha movement, who declined to appear before the court. Two other defendants, released pending trial, were also absent on the grounds that they had not received official court summonses.
A Company at the Center of Major Judicial Suspicion
Instalingo is a communication and digital-content production company based in Kalâa Kebira (Sousse). It was raided on 10 September 2021, after intelligence reports suggested possible involvement in activities described as “undermining state security, money laundering, and defamation through social media.”
Previous Sentences Issued in the Case
The second criminal chamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance had previously issued sentences ranging from 5 to 54 years in prison, in what has become one of Tunisia’s most controversial judicial cases in recent years.
The postponed ruling by the Court of Appeal marks yet another development in a case that continues to spark political and public debate across the country.
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