A Tunisian court has sentenced prominent opposition figures to prison terms ranging from 13 to 66 years, marking the conclusion of a sweeping trial that accused 40 individuals of plotting against state security.
Activists and observers have denounced the case as unfounded and politically charged. Tunisian President Kais Saied, who has been widely criticized for consolidating power, has dismantled many of the freedoms Tunisians gained after sparking the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings in 2011.
Among those charged, according to a report, are former diplomats, business executives, journalists, lawyers, and human rights advocates. Several have remained in pre-trial detention for over two years, while others fled the country fearing persecution.
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The trial, which commenced in March, concluded late Friday and early Saturday with a flurry of verdicts from the special criminal court designated for terrorism cases. Sentences of between 13 and 66 years were issued to high-profile opposition leaders, according to Tunisia’s official news agency TAP and local outlet Jawahra FM.
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TAP quoted a substitute prosecutor who stated that the accused were convicted of conspiring against state security and affiliating with a terrorist organization.
Defense attorneys speaking to local media said it remained unclear how many of the 40 defendants were formally sentenced during the court’s final session.
One of those convicted is former lawmaker Said Ferjani, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison, according to his daughter Kaouther Ferjani in a post on X. Calling the case “yet another fabricated conspiracy case,” she noted that other members of the Islamist Ennahdha party were also among the convicted.
President Saied, re-elected for a second term last year, has repeatedly labeled his political opponents as “traitors and terrorists,” especially those who accuse him of orchestrating a power grab in 2021.
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Since dissolving parliament and vastly expanding his executive powers that year, Saied has faced mounting accusations of using Tunisia’s judiciary as a tool to silence dissent. Among the critics is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has expressed concern over the erosion of democratic norms in the country.
This week, Human Rights Watch released a report documenting Tunisia’s intensifying crackdown on dissent, alleging that authorities have increasingly deployed politically driven arrests and prosecutions to muzzle critics.
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