Escape to France and Asylum Rejection: The Case of Adel Daâdaâ, Close Associate of Rached Ghannouchi
After fleeing Tunisia via Turkey, Adel Daâdaâ, the former head of protocol for Ennahda party leader Rached Ghannouchi, found himself in a legally precarious situation in France, where the authorities rejected his asylum application.
Daâdaâ left Tunisia at the end of 2022, despite being under a travel ban. He reportedly used his influence at Tunis-Carthage Airport to bypass controls through staff-designated passages. After a brief stop in Istanbul, he relocated to France in 2024, where some of his family members reside.
In February 2025, he was sentenced in absentia to thirty-eight years in prison in the so-called “Instalingo case” — one of several high-profile prosecutions targeting figures associated with Ennahda. Other defendants include Rached Ghannouchi, sentenced to twenty-two years; former Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi (thirty-five years); former Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem (thirty-four years); and former director-general of the Interior Ministry’s intelligence services Lazhar Loungou (fifteen years), all charged primarily with “conspiring against state security.”
Adel Daâdaâ submitted his asylum request to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) in July 2024. However, in February 2025, following two hearings, his request was formally rejected. French authorities argued that he had failed to provide sufficient evidence of “arbitrary or biased” justice in Tunisia regarding the charges against him — despite his long-standing reputation as the “black box” of the Ennahda party due to his close ties to Ghannouchi and his controversial financial dealings.
The Ofpra report noted that the verdict against Daâdaâ was “not final” and could be appealed, stating that he still had legal recourse before the Tunisian judiciary.
During his interrogation, Daâdaâ sought to justify his early departure from Tunisia by proclaiming his innocence and pointing to corruption within the judiciary. However, these arguments failed to convince French authorities, who deemed them insufficient to support his asylum claim.
It is worth noting that the Tunisian judiciary has faced growing pressure since July 25, 2021, following exceptional measures taken by President Kais Saied, including direct interventions in judicial proceedings. Amnesty International had denounced Saied’s statements after the arrest of politician Khayam Turki in February 2023, describing them as acts of judicial intimidation.
Facing this reality, Adel Daâdaâ has decided to appeal the asylum rejection before France’s National Court of Asylum, in a final attempt to alter his legal fate in France.
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