20 Years in Prison for Ben Fadhel | CRLDHT Condemns 'Vengeance in the Name of Justice'

⚠️ Urgent Information — Flash Radio is following this situation in real time. In a statement published in Paris on October 30, 2026, the Committee for the Respect of Freedoms and Human Rights in Tunisia (CRLDHT) 'strongly condemns the sentencing of Riadh Ben Fadhel to twenty years in prison (...) in the case known as the 'confiscated assets' case.' The Tunisian NGO based in Paris asserts that 'after nearly three years of detention, this extremely severe sentence constitutes a new act of repression against a figure of democratic opposition,' while demanding the 'immediate release' of the general coordinator of the Al-Qotb party, entrepreneur and former editor-in-chief of the Arabic edition of Le Monde diplomatique. The facts and recent developments Riadh Ben Fadhel was arrested on November 14, 2023, at Tunis-Carthage Airport upon his return from abroad. A detention order was issued against him on November 24, 2023, in an investigation concerning the acquisition of confiscated assets and suspicions of money laundering. He was not evading justice: he was returning to Tunisia. Since then, hearings, postponements and refusals of release have followed. 'Strongly condemns the sentencing of Riadh Ben Fadhel to twenty years in prison (...) in the case known as the 'confiscated assets' case.' 'After nearly three years of detention, this extremely severe sentence constitutes a new act of repression against a figure of democratic opposition.' In its previous statement, the CRLDHT had already denounced detention that had become a pre-trial punishment. On October 12, 2026, requests for release had still been rejected. Today, the twenty-year prison sentence extends this detention with a verdict that the Committee condemns as 'deeply unjust.' According to his defense, the disputed acquisitions were made within the framework of auctions and tender processes.