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Tunisia Arrests Opposition Leader Nejib Chebbi After Appeals Court Upholds Heavy Sentences

The detention follows appeal rulings imposing long terms in a conspiracy case criticized by rights groups.

Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, head of the National Salvation Front, speaks during a news conference in Tunis, Tunisia February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui

Overview

  • Police detained Chebbi to enforce a 12-year sentence for conspiracy, his family and lawyer said.
  • An appeals court last week imposed prison terms of up to 45 years on dozens of defendants in the same case.
  • Authorities also arrested Chaima Issa to enforce a 20-year term and lawyer Ayachi Hammami for a five-year term, and both announced open-ended hunger strikes.
  • About 40 people were charged in the sprawling case, which includes former intelligence chief Kamel Guizani, as security officials allege a plot to destabilize the state.
  • Opposition groups and rights organizations denounce the proceedings as politically driven, while President Kais Saied portrays the prosecutions as a campaign against entrenched corruption and denies meddling in the judiciary.