A Tunisian appeals court on Wednesday upheld a 22-year prison sentence against Rached Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennahda Movement and former speaker of parliament, in the high-profile Instalingo case.
The ruling confirmed convictions against 40 politicians, journalists, bloggers and business figures, while reducing the sentence of one defendant, Shatha Belhaj Mubarak, from five years to two years with a suspended execution, leading to her release. Ghannouchi, 84, has been in detention since April 17, 2023, and is already serving multiple sentences in separate cases.
The case stems from a February 5 lower court ruling that imposed prison terms ranging from five to 54 years on 41 defendants. Charges include conspiring against state security, attempting to alter the nature of the state, inciting violence, provoking unrest, and committing hostile acts against the president.
While appeals court decisions are subject to challenge before the Court of Cassation, such appeals do not suspend the enforcement of sentences under Tunisian law. All defendants deny the charges. Instalingo, a digital media company based in Sousse governorate, was raided by authorities on September 10, 2021, over allegations related to state security, money laundering and online defamation.
The government maintains the prosecutions are criminal in nature and free from political interference, a claim disputed by opposition figures who view the case as part of a wider crackdown following President Kais Saied’s extraordinary measures introduced on July 25, 2021. Those measures, which included dissolving parliament, ruling by decree and adopting a new constitution, remain deeply contested, continuing to shape Tunisia’s fraught political and judicial landscape.
