Tunis: The defence committee of those arrested in the so-called "conspiracy against state security" case said it had identified "manipulation of the proceedings" and held the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal responsible. Annexed documents to the file and the decisions made after April 5 are "moral fraud punishable by criminal complaint, and this is what the committee intends to do," reads a press release. The defence committee further criticised the procrastination policy and the use of pretexts such as lack of staff to justify the investigating judge's failure to retrieve the file immediately, citing an "intentional error" and a violation of the procedures in force in the context of an appeal in cassation. The legal parties who contacted the committee had nevertheless admitted that the case had not been sent to the investigating judge after the judgement handed down by the indictment division had been referred to the Supreme Court. The committee pointed out that its clients were held in arbitrary detention for 14 months without having been brought before the criminal division of the Tunis Court of First Instance. Any action taken by the investigating judge of the 36th Bureau of the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Unit is "illegal" insofar as the case no longer falls within his jurisdiction following the appeal to the Supreme Court last April 5. In such cases, the investigating judge is obliged, pursuant to Article 261 of the Criminal Procedure Code, to immediately refer the case to the Court of Cassation. The judicial authorities have failed to provide any clarification on this issue. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
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