The decision of the criminal department concerned with looking into cases of financial corruption in the first instance court in Tunis 1, which has sentenced Sami Al-Fihri to eight years in prison, with urgent enforcement, in the “Cactus” case, left a number of questions about the merits of this case, due to suspicions related to breaches and violations, especially with regard to the testimonies of lawyers and specialists in legal procedures, they considered it the biggest scandal in the history of the judiciary.

Phases of the Case

Attorney Alaa El-Din Al-Kanzari, in charge of the personal right in the “Cactus” case, which was filed by the National TV Syndicate in cooperation with the Anti-Corruption Commission headed by Abdel-Fattah Omar, confirmed in a statement to “JDD”, that the case’s phases date back to February 28, 2011, when two complaints were submitted. The subject was discussed separately, and 3 experts appointed by the Dean of Investigative Judges at the Court of First Instance in Tunis were issued, proving that Cactus had seized in the person of its agent and partners, Sami Al-Fihri and Belhassen Al-Trabelsi, an amount of 22 billion and 911 million.
investigations on the case have started since then, and the Court of First Instance in Tunisia issued, on Monday 8 March 2021, after a session that lasted for more than 6 hours, with 8 years imprisonment with urgent execution, against Sami Al-Fihri and 10 years with urgent execution, against Belhassen Al-Trabelsi, and their fine With a financial fine of 40 million dinars, while the court ruled not to be punished according to the Administrative Reconciliation Law, for each of the former advisor to Ben Ali Abdel Wahab Abdullah and 5 former chief directors of National Television, who are Muhammad Al-Fihri Shalabi, Moncef Kouja, Ibrahim Al-Faridi, Mustafa Al-Khumari and Al-Hadi Bennasr, in the publicity case, the subject of a dispute between the “Cactus Broadcast” company and the national television during the revolution, in the presence of all the defendants, except for Belhassan Trabelsi, who was sentenced in absentia.
The case is filed by four parties, which are the National Television Corporation, the television syndicates, the person in charge of state disputes, and a private company, Golden Production, according to our interlocutor, who pointed out the many violations and abuses that the “Cactus” company committed against the right of national television, with regard to advertising, billing and exploitation of the institution’s equipment, which the test report identified at 24 billion, in addition to the problems of selling program episodes at 80 thousand dinars to the institution.
The lawyer emphasized that the right of the National Television Corporation had been destroyed, and that the amount of reparation, which was set at more than 22 billion, was very little compared to the money seized.
The national television is demanding compensation of 120 billion, while the reports of the tests conducted only proved the amounts of about 24 billion, due to its lack of access to the media contents that include the advertising content, which made it difficult to quantify the value of the damage caused to the national institution. And he indicated that 5 criminal departments have examined this file, and that 25 judges have examined the case in its three phases, beginning, appellate and commentary, which confirms the integrity of the procedures in place, contrary to what the opponent said.

A Scandal in the History of the Judiciary

In a statement to “JDD” (Tuesday, March 9, 2021), the lawyer, Sonia Al-Dahmani, considered that the sentence issued against Sami Al-Fihri is “very harsh.” In a case in which many legal violations were recorded, and the acts attributed to Al-Fihri “do not amount to the crime attributed to him,” according to her estimation.
For her part, Sonia al-Dahmani indicated that what she was expecting in Al-Fihri’s file was for the court to issue rulings not to hear the lawsuit due to the invalidity of the procedures or due to the civil character, given that the accusations in the case are related to the financial aspect, indicating that it was possible to go to the commercial court in this type of case, noting that the 8-year prison sentence was a shock and she goes further to indicate that this case “will be taught for generations at the Tunisian University, as it is the biggest scandal in the history of the judiciary.” The defense spokesperson also justified all the violations recorded in the file of this case to the court and also showed that the actions do not amount to a crime, and that the judge is responsible for the judgments issued by him. Al-Dahmani confirmed, as well, that this ruling is not final and that it is subject to appeal, which is what Sami Al-Fihri’s defense lawyer will do.

Wholesale Legal Breaches

For his part, Sami Al-Fihri’s lawyer, Abdul Aziz Al-Said, revealed that there were many legal violations in the “Cactus” case file, noting that the case file, published 10 years ago, witnessed many legal violations.
Al-Sayd indicated that among the recorded breaches, the investigating judge decided to keep Sami Al-Fihri in a state of release, while the accusation department decided to issue a prison deposit card against him during what he described as the “strange” session.
After the decision was postponed, a ruling was issued to release Sami Al-Fihri by the court of appeal, and after he was informed of his preparation to leave prison, he was surprised by the refusal to release him by the Public Prosecution.
It is noteworthy that Sami Al-Fihri was released on February 17, 2021, after being imprisoned in implementation of a second deposit card issued against him, by the Accusation Chamber of the Economic and Financial Judicial Power of the Court of Appeal in Tunisia, with the judicial disposer of the company “Cactus Broad” and the agent of “Ait Broad” company. On January 30, 2020.
This follows a complaint filed by the Public Charge for State Disputes against the Ministry of State Property and the Confiscation Committee, regarding the opening of an investigation into the current case, for crimes of “money laundering and a public official’s exploitation of their position in order to harm and violate the ordinances.
A Call to Activate the Administrative Reconciliation Law
Those in charge of the personal right demanded that the maximum penalties be imposed on the accused, in addition to reparation for the material damage of the television, which is estimated at 24 billion, according to the test report.
They also demanded that the administrative reconciliation law with the accused Abd al-Wahhab Abdullah not be activated, due to the lack of legal conditions in it, while the defendants’ lawyers confirm that the reconciliation law issued on October 24, 2017, has not been heard nor has the public lawsuit been and the special case is abandoned for lack of capacity.
Lawyers for the former general directors of the television also called for activating the administrative reconciliation law against their clients, noting that the technical test report acknowledged that they were not involved in the seizure of the proceeds of advertising in dispute.
It should be noted that the Administrative Reconciliation Law was voted in Parliament, which concerns employees who have achieved benefit for others without directly benefiting from it, while the Reconciliation Law in the Financial Field was dropped, which concerns all persons who have unlawfully achieved financial benefit, which explains the continued prosecutions against a number of businessmen, including the brother-in-law of the late President Ben Ali Belhassan Trabelsi and owner of the Tunisian Al-Hiwar Channel, Sami Al-Fihri.