Imen
Ouardani
Imen Ouardani is a former deputy mayor of Sousse who headed the municipality's equal opportunities committee. She was detained in May 2024 over the municipality's partnership with Terre d'Asile Tunisie, an association that assists migrants and refugees, and held for about 20 months. On 5 January 2026 a Tunis court gave her a two-year suspended sentence and she was released.
- Country
- Tunisia
- Role
- NGO worker
- Arrested
- 10 May 2024
- Sentence
- Two years in prison, suspended (Tunis Court of First Instance, 5 January 2026).
- Status
- At liberty
- Arrested
- 10 May 2024
- Sentence
- Two years in prison, suspended (Tunis Court of First Instance, 5 January 2026).
- Judicial status
- Convicted, not final
- Name in Arabic
- إيمان الورداني
- Charges
- Money laundering
- Fraud
- Forming a conspiracy to bring foreigners into Tunisia
- Abuse of office
The arrest, and what followed.
Background and Work
Imen Ouardani holds a doctorate in biology. She served as deputy mayor of Sousse and headed the municipal committee on equal opportunities. In late 2022 the municipal council approved a partnership with Terre d'Asile Tunisie, a Tunisian association that assists migrants and refugees, to open a local office in Sousse; the agreement was signed in 2023.
Arrest and Detention
On 10 May 2024 she was summoned to the National Guard unit at El Aouina and placed in detention the same day on the prosecutor's order. The case against her concerns the municipality's partnership with Terre d'Asile Tunisie. She was charged with offences including money laundering, fraud, forming a conspiracy to bring foreigners into Tunisia, and abuse of office. She spent about 20 months in pretrial detention, including at Manouba civil prison.
Trial and Release
Her trial opened on 15 December 2025 before the criminal chamber for financial corruption at the Tunis Court of First Instance, which rejected requests for release and adjourned the case to 5 January 2026. On that day the court gave the five detained defendants in the Terre d'Asile Tunisie case, including her, two-year suspended prison sentences. She was released that night. No appeal ruling has been reported.