Tunisia – Arrest of Sudanese who trained migrants in combat sports

The official spokesperson for the courts of Monastir and Mahdia, Farid Ben Jha, confirmed the detention of the Sudanese “Kung Fu” coach, whose videos recently circulated on different social media platforms, in one olive grove in Al-Amra, in the governorate of Sfax, and who was training a group of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa in fighting sport.

Ben Jha explained that the person involved was arrested last Saturday, while attempting to secretly cross the maritime border in the town of La Chebba, in the province of Mahdia, in the company of a group of migrants.

He said that a report had been filed against him for allegedly agreeing to secretly cross the maritime border. This report was presented to the Mahdia public prosecutor’s office, and an investigation has been initiated against him for the “use of communication systems to spread information to terrorize and intimidate residents.” Further, he mentioned that if the charges against him are confirmed, the sentence could reach up to 5 years in prison.

He appears today before the investigating judge of the Mahdia Court of First Instance to take the required measures against him.

Ben Jha underscored that the accused was born in 2000 and illegally entered Tunisian territory through the Libyan border in 2023, and settled in the area of El Omrane Supérieur, in Tunis, before settling in the Al Amra region then in the town of La Chebba in Mahdia, where he was arrested during an illegal immigration operation.