page_title: Thala-Kasserine Disturbances
section_title: Trial and sentencing
hierarchical_section_title: Thala-Kasserine Disturbances / Trial and sentencing
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Casino de Sousse vers 1917
context_page_description: The Thala-Kasserine Disturbances were an episode of unrest in April 1906 in western Tunisia, the first violent resistance against authority under the French protectorate since its establishment in 1881. Inspired by an Algerian marabout, insurgents killed three French settlers in the Kasserine region before a gunfight in Thala left around a dozen of them dead and the rest in custody.
context_section_description: The trial of Ben Othman and fifty-eight of his associates was held in Sousse from 21 November-12 December 1906. Two of the accused were still at large and were tried in absentia.
  44 men were charged with looting
  1, Salah Ben Mohamed Ben Saad, known as El Ouagaf, was charged with the murder of un pour assassinat, le dénommé
  25 were charged with being accessories to the murder of Henri Salles
  26 were charged with being accessories to the murder of Salles' mother
  26 were charged with the attempted murder of Mira
  the same 26 were charged with the murder of Delrio
  43 were charged with aiding and abetting the accused above
  2 were charged with assault against an employee of Salles from the stud farm
  1 was charged with violence towards Miss Cécile Bertrand
  3 were charged with violence towards Modolo
  11 were charged with attempted looting
  3, Amor Ben Othman, his assistant and their host, Ferhat Ben Mohamed Ben Salah, were charged with conspiring to commit all of the crimes above
  The trial lasted 22 days and as it unfolded the respective roles of the accused became clearer. Numerous witnesses accused Salah Ben Mohamed Ben Saad of having struck the first blow against Henri Salles, using a sabre found in the house. He was also implicated in the murder of Madame Salle, killed by Ahmed Ben Messaoud, who had died in the rifle fire at Thala. Witnesses also said he had struck Delrio two blows with the sabre.
  Mohamed Ben Belgacem Ben Goaïed was accused of the murder of Delrio, on whom he had fired at close range. He had also been seen brandishing his weapon and shouting 'See, Mohammed, how we convert the Christians to Islam!'. At the Salle farm, he had chased after Domenico Mira, but spared his life when he converted.
  Amor Ben Ali Ben Amor was accused of the murder of Delrio, whose skull he had smashed with a blow from a spade. He had then prepared the bonfire to burn his body.
  Harrat Ben Belgacem Ben Ali was accused of taking part in the murder of Delrio by stabbing him several times with a dagger.
  Ali Ben Mohamed Ben Salah and Amor Ben Othman were accused of inciting the murders, but Ben Othman's culpability was diminished following testimony from doctors who had examined him and attributed his limited intelligence to historic attacks of epilepsy.  The real instigator appeared to be Ali Ben Mohamed Ben Salah who had exploited the fervour created by the marabout's presence aura to trigger the attacks.
  Ferhat, who had provided Amor Ben Othman with accommodation, was likewise accused of having sheltered the organiser of the murders, taken part in preparatory meetings and kept the captured French people prisoner.
  At the end of the hearings, the prosecutor, Liautier, demanded four death penalties and many sentences of lifelong forced labour, with lighter penalties for the accomplices. The verdicts were handed down on 12 December.
  Three death penalties: Salah Ben Mohamed Ben Saad, known as El Ouagaf, Mohamed Ben Belgacem Ben Goaïed, and Amor Ben Ali Ben Amor known as Bouaïda
  Two sentences to lifelong hard labour: Ali Ben Mohamed Ben Salah and Harrat Ben Belgacem Ben Ali
  Nine sentences to twenty years of forced labour
  Eight sentences, including Ben Othman, to ten years of forced labour
  Four sentences to five years of forced labour
  Three sentences to ten years' imprisonment
  Four sentences to five years' imprisonment
  Eight sentences to two years' imprisonment
  Sixteen acquittals
  Ferhat was acquitted after claiming he had sheltered Ben Othman against his will.  His advanced age (he was 65) was also taken into account. Harrat Ben Belgacem Ben Ali escaped the death sentence thanks to his youth (he was 20).
caption: The Casino in Sousse where the trial was held
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