A Tunisian appeals court has handed down prison sentences of up to 45 years in a trial over a conspiracy against the state, media reports and lawyers said on Friday.
Around 40 individuals, including prominent opposition figures,received heavy sentences ranging from 10 to 45 years in prison in the appeal of the conspiracy case.
Most of the 37 defendants have been in detention since their arrest in 2023 and were charged with “conspiracy against state security” and “membership in a terrorist group.”
Among the defendants are businessman Kamel Letaief; Jawhar Ben Mbarek, head of the main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front (FSN); party leaders Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi; and politicians
Khayam Turki and Ridha Belhaj.
According to the Mosaïque FM report, the detained defendants received sentences of 10 to 45 years, while one defendant in detention was acquitted. And for those on provisional release, the sentences ranged from 5 to 35 years, with two defendants acquitted.
In April, following just three hearings and without defense pleadings, the defendants were given harsher sentences in first instance trials, including up to 66 years in prison.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk criticised the trial, citing “violations of law and raising serious concerns about political motivations.” Khayam Turki was sentenced to 35 years in prison, down from 48 years in the first instance, according to his lawyer Samir Dilou.
A lawyer, Haifa Chebbi, noted that Ben Mbarek, Issam Chebbi, and Ghazi Chaouachi, all detainees, received 20-year sentences, up from 18 in the first instance, including rights activist, Chaima Issa, who was tried in absentia.
Prior to the appeal, the Human Rights Watch called for the annulment of the original sentences, criticizing the absence of fair trial guarantees. The NGO described the proceedings as part of a broader campaign to “repress any form of criticism or dissent.”
Since President Kaïs Saïed’s consolidation of power in summer 2021, Tunisian and international NGOs have decried the erosion of rights and freedom in Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab Spring.
Dozens of opposition figures, lawyers, journalists, and humanitarian workers remain detained on conspiracy charges or under a decree on false information.
In a separate case for “conspiracy against internal state security, known as “Conspiracy 2,” other opponents, including Ennahda party leader Rachid Ghannouchi, were sentenced in early July to prison terms ranging from 12 to 35 years.
AK/sf/lb/gik/APA