Tunis court hands down 18-year terms in international coral-trafficking case
Around 40 Tunisian and Italian defendants were prosecuted over a network accused of removing and smuggling Tunisian coral to European markets.
A specialised financial-corruption chamber at the Tunis Court of First Instance has handed down prison terms of 18 years in a major case involving the trafficking of coral from Tunisia to Europe.
The court also imposed substantial fines, according to local media reports published on Saturday. The amounts of the fines and the number of defendants who received the full 18-year sentence were not disclosed.
Around 40 Tunisian and Italian defendants were included in the case. They reportedly included businesspeople, with some defendants appearing before the court while free and others remaining abroad or at large.
The reports did not identify those convicted or provide an individual breakdown of the judgments.
Network uncovered in 2019
The case dates to 2019, when Tunisian security and customs authorities dismantled what they described as an organised international network involved in collecting, removing and exporting coral through illegal channels.
Investigators accused the network of taking large quantities of coral from Tunisian waters and transporting them towards European markets. The total value associated with the seized coral was estimated at more than five million dinars.
Ten suspects were initially reported arrested when the network was uncovered. The investigation later expanded to include dozens of Tunisian and Italian nationals.
During an earlier hearing, a representative of the General Directorate of Customs maintained a request for a fine of five million dinars against the defendants. Saturday’s reports said the final judgment included heavy financial penalties but did not confirm whether the court awarded that exact amount.
Coral is harvested for use in jewellery and decorative products. Illegal extraction damages slow-growing marine colonies and the ecosystems that develop around them.
The case was repeatedly postponed before the court issued its judgments. Appeals remain possible under Tunisian judicial procedure.