Tunisian court sentences former security officials to 15 years in prison for corruption

A court in Tunisia sentenced on Thursday five senior security officials at the Interior Ministry to 15 years in prison over their alleged involvement in a major corruption case.

The case dates back to 2010, a few months before the outbreak of the Tunisian revolution, when several Interior Ministry officials reportedly embezzled 8 million Tunisian Dinars (about $5 million) of the Ministry’s funds.

The Tunisian Observatory for the Independence of Justice said the court had decided, based on the reports submitted by the Interior Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Financial Supervisory Authority, that the five defendants were guilty of seizing public funds as well as fabricating documents and fake invoices.

The Observatory pointed out that the court sentenced each of the defendants to 15 years in prison and ordered them to return the embezzled amounts.