In Tunisia, if you have a coffee with an ambassador, you risk 45 years

For some opponents of Kais Saied’s Tunisian regime, simply having a foreign diplomat’s business card at home – including that of an Italian diplomat – was enough to land them on trial on charges of plotting against state security. From the transcripts of the interrogations of some of the 36 defendants in what is known in Tunis as “the conspiracy trial” – which Il Foglio was able to examine – it is clear that the investigators used summary procedures to impose extremely harsh sentences on civil society activists. On 3 September, the sentences handed down on appeal were upheld by the judges of the Tunisian Court of Cassation, who were hastily summoned by the regime to cut short their summer holidays and reach a guilty verdict as soon as possible. This brought to a close one of the trials that had become a symbol of the repression of civil rights in Tunisia, with the defendants including politicians, journalists and lawyers. Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, Issam Chebbi, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ridha Belhaj, Khayam Turki, Noureddine Bhiri and Abdelhamid Jelassi were all accused – in the complete absence of evidence – of having orchestrated a regime change against President Saied. As denounced by NGOs such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Tunisian trade unions, none of the defendants were given the opportunity to defend themselves during the trial, and the grounds for the convictions remained arbitrary.

The entire case hinges on the testimony of just two anonymous sources. According to the prosecution, the defendants are alleged to have established relationships with foreign diplomats – primarily Western ones, ranging from American and British to French and, indeed, Italian – thereby criminalising normal professional relations between foreign diplomats and representatives of civil society. One of the most telling cases is that of Khayam Turki, a member of the Ettakol Social Democratic Party. Coming from a high-ranking family – his father was an ambassador – he was arrested in February 2023. Among the documents included in the case file is a WhatsApp conversation that Turki had in May 2022 with the then Italian ambassador to Tunis – and current Italian representative in the United Arab Emirates – Lorenzo Fanara. In the chats, the two arrange to meet, along with another politician convicted of conspiracy, Issam Chebbi, at Turki’s home in Sidi Bou Said, some twenty kilometres from Tunis. On another occasion, Fanara himself invites Turki to his residence at the Italian embassy, but on reading the chats between the two, it is clear that the conversation remains strictly limited to the information necessary to arrange a meeting – “what time?”, “no, I can’t on Friday”. On just one occasion did the Tunisian politician and our ambassador discuss a topic related to current political affairs on WhatsApp, when Turki explained to Fanara the reasons behind the arrest of former Prime Minister Hamadi Jabali, of the Islamist Ennahda party. The discussion, however, ended there, leaving no suspicion of conspiracy. In the case of Noureddine Boutar, director of Radio Mosaique, who was only acquitted on appeal last December after being sentenced at first instance to ten years’ imprisonment, the evidence used by the investigators included the discovery at his home of a business card belonging to Fabrizio Saggio, Fanara’s successor at the Italian embassy in Tunis from 2022 to 2023 and Giorgia Meloni’s current diplomatic adviser at Palazzo Chigi.

Then there is the case of Kamel Eltaïef, a businessman sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment. In the interrogation transcripts, the investigators’ questions revolve around unspecified ‘information in our possession’ concerning the relationship between the businessman and Saggio. “How do you explain the reports that you deliberately established contacts with representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Tunisia, such as Italian ambassadors, with the aim of overthrowing the current system?” Answer: “We discussed the general situation without going into personal matters,” explains Eltaïef. “I am not aware of any law prohibiting Tunisian citizens from receiving representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Tunisia in their homes, or from visiting their residences to discuss matters concerning the state’s economy or similar topics.” In 2023, the defence team for the accused had asked the investigating judge to summon the eight Western ambassadors implicated in the case to give evidence. The request fell on deaf ears.

In addition to widespread discontent in Brussels over Saied’s handling of the economy, the Supreme Court’s ruling has greatly irritated the EU, which, in 2023, signed a memorandum of understanding with Tunis to stem migration flows. A Commission spokesperson issued a rare criticism of the Tunisian regime on 4 September, immediately following the Supreme Court’s ruling. “The EU deplores the fact that contacts with diplomats accredited to Tunisia – including European diplomats – have been used as the basis for an indictment or as evidence against the accused in a trial concerning a plot against state security,” reads the statement, which reiterates “the importance of ensuring full respect for human rights, including freedom of expression, and respect for the right to a fair trial”. The day after the EU’s rebuke, in response, Saied ordered the arrest of Mohamed Yousfi, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Katiba and merely the latest in a long line of journalists arrested by the regime.