Detainees in state security conspiracy case to remain in pre-trial detention, appeals court rules

The Tunis Appeals Court has rejected the appeal filed by seven defendants in the "conspiracy against state security" case against the decision to extend their pre-trial detention by four months. All the defendants remain in custody, Habib Torkhani, spokesman for the Court told TAP on Thursday. He clarified that the appeals filed by the defendants in the case were reviewed on Thursday. Torkhani added that that the appeals were rejected on substantive grounds and reiterated that the decision to extend pre-trial detention was upheld. Defence lawyer Dalila Msaddek had announced, on December 21, 2023, that the pre-trial detention of the defendants in the case of conspiracy against state security had been extended by four months following a decision by the investigating judge. She said this is the second four-month extension of their pre-trial detention, following the one decided in August 2023, six months after the arrest warrants were issued against them on February 24 and 25, 2023. The arrests in this case date back to February 2023. They targeted opposition politicians, lawyers and businessmen. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse