_: The defence committee in the case of the assassination of Chokri Belaid said files of the case are still open and will not be closed until all those involved are held accountable". They announced that they would appeal against the first instance verdict issued on March 26 against 23 defendants, following an appeal lodged on Monday by the Tunisian Bar Association and the Unified Democratic Patriots Party as the civil party. During a press conference held at the Lawyers' House on Tuesday, entitled "The verdict and its consequences", defence lawyer Koutheir Bouallegue recalled that the verdict had only been issued for the execution group. The splitting of the case into two files (one relating to the planning, monitoring and recruitment group and the other to the execution group) was decided by the investigating judge on June 14, 2014 and was beyond the control of the defence, he added. The Tunis Court of First Instance will start the trial of part of the "monitoring and recruitment group" and part of the "ensuring impunity group", known as the "Fethi Dammak file", for the first time on April 30, Bouallegue added. The case concerns the planning of the assassination of a group of politicians, media professionals and national figures, including the martyr Chokri Belaid. The case involves several members of Ennahdha, including Taher Boubahri (Ali Larayedh's advisor), Mustapha Kedhr, Kamel Aifi, Hichem Cherbib, Ali Ferchichi and Belhassen Nakkach, as well as three senior Interior Ministry officials. It was also announced that 35 defendants belonging to "Ennahdha's secret apparatus" and security chiefs will be referred to the anti-terrorism court, following a lawsuit filed by the Unified Democratic Patriots Party, the Popular Current Party and the family of martyr Mohamed Brahmi. The defendants in the case include Rached Ghannouchi, Samir Hannachi, Fethi Beldi, Kamel Aifi and Kamel Bedoui, Rached Ghannouchi's security adviser, 'whose contacts with Bechir Akremi and Sofien Sliti have been proven,' according to B ouallegue. The same source recalled that Mustapha Kedhr was sentenced in absentia to a first prison term in the case of the martyr Chokri Belaid, and is accused, along with Amer Balazi and Mohamed Akkari, in the case of the assassination of Mohamed Brahmi, for which a hearing has been set for April 5. Lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi reviewed the main data regarding the verdict and the convicts, recalling that the first 13 sessions began on June 30, 2015 and the last on March 26, 2024. He provided data on the number of those convicted in the case, out of 23 defendants belonging to the Ansar al-Sharia organisation, which can be divided into five groups that had points of contact and communication, mostly through mosques, the most important of which is the Al-Rahma mosque in the Khadra neighbourhood. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
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