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Fines and imprisonment for irrigating crops with wastewater in Tunisia
via Business News2 min read
Farmers who use wastewater to irrigate their crops face fines exceeding 50,000 dinars and potential imprisonment, according to the Food Safety Authority. This reminder follows an operation in Tebourba, La Manouba governorate, where five hectares of tomato crops in the Chouigui region were ordered destroyed. Maha Khaldi, regional director of the Authority in La Manouba, stated on June 2, 2026, that the farm owner was caught irrigating with wastewater. The case will be forwarded to the courts for legal sanctions. Authorities destroyed the affected plot after discovering an irrigation system fed by wastewater, a practice prohibited due to public health risks. The intervention was carried out under an administrative decision, supervised by a joint regional commission including representatives from the regional agricultural development directorate, the Food Safety Authority, the National Environmental Protection Agency, local authorities, and National Guard units. The destroyed crops were still in their vegetative growth stage. Control services observed that the farmer was using water from the Chouigui sanitation network, collected in a basin before being directed to the crops. Authorities also noted alterations to a wadi to divert water flow, violating regulations on public hydraulic domains. This incident is part of ongoing investigations into several similar cases of illegal use of unconventional water for agricultural irrigation. Control services emphasize that these practices
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Must ReadOn June 1, 2026, Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed met with Crispin Mbadu Phanzu, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Congo and special envoy of President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo. Saïed called for a "new impetus" for Africa and a "refoundation of the world order." The Congolese delegation included Juliana Amato Lumumba, daughter of Patrice Lumumba. On June 2, 2026, the criminal chamber specializing in terrorism cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance delivered its verdict in the Ennahdha secret apparatus case, with sentences ranging from ten years to life imprisonment. Accused individuals were found guilty of various terrorist offenses, including forming and joining a terrorist organization. The General Federation of Banks, Financial Institutions, and Insurance Companies announced a general strike for June 23, 24, and 25, 2026, due to social and salary tensions, with the federation's secretary general, Sami Salhi, calling for immediate social dialogue and a salary agreement for 2025. Slaheddine Selmi, secretary general of the UGTT, criticized the relationship between the union and the executive power, expressing skepticism about a change in the authorities' stance. Nabil Mokhtar, head of the mechanical beach cleaning program, reported an alarming state of the Tunisian coastline and announced an expansion of the annual cleaning campaign to 152 beaches, covering approximately 180 kilometers.
The Islamist movement Ennahdha reacted on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, to the verdicts delivered by the criminal chamber specializing in terrorism cases of the Tunis Court of First Instance in the "secret apparatus" case. Among those convicted is Rached Ghannouchi, head of the movement, who received a life prison sentence, along with several other leaders. In a statement published the same day, the movement described these judgments as "shocking" and "unprecedented in the history of Tunisian justice," and presented its arguments to challenge their legitimacy. The movement noted that the complaint initiating these proceedings did not come from security or judicial services, but from representatives of an opposing political party. It also highlighted that the main accused, Mustapha Khedher, had already been tried and imprisoned for eight years for the same acts in 2013, when Ennahdha was in power, and that justice had then concluded there was no link between this case and the movement. The party further stated that Rached Ghannouchi was only added to the list of defendants in 2022, not as part of an autonomous judicial investigation, but at the direct request of the Ministry of Justice, which it presented as proof of the political nature of the case. Ennahdha denounced the court's refusal to hold public hearings in the presence of the media, despite repeated requests from the defense. The movement also contested the credibility of the testimonies used against them, attributing some t
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