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Tunisian Court Sentences Opposition Leaders to Up to 66 Years in Mass Trial

Forty defendants, including prominent political figures, were convicted of conspiracy against state security in a trial widely criticized as politically motivated and procedurally flawed.

FILE - People take part in a protest against president Kais Saied policies, in Tunis, Tunisia, Sunday, March 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi, File)
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Chaima Issa (3rd-R), Tunisian journalist, human rights defender and member of the main opposition coalition (FSN), arrives in front of the courthouse in Tunis, as the trial of dozens of Tunisian opposition figures resumed on April 11, 2025. Around 40 high-profile defendants activists, politicians, lawyers and media figures are on trial, some of whom have been vocal critics of President Kais Saied. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP) (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • A Tunisian court issued prison sentences ranging from 13 to 66 years to 40 opposition leaders, lawyers, and businesspeople on charges of conspiring against state security.
  • More than 20 of the defendants were tried in absentia, with some having fled abroad, including French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy, who received a 33-year sentence.
  • Rights groups and defense lawyers have denounced the trial as a sham, citing procedural violations, lack of fair trial standards, and politically motivated charges.
  • President Kais Saied, accused of consolidating authoritarian rule since 2021, has faced widespread criticism for using the judiciary to suppress opposition and dissent.
  • Key opposition figures, including Nejib Chebbi, Issam Chebbi, and Khayam Turki, were among those sentenced, with some already detained since 2023.