Tunisian courts have issued final verdicts in the highly controversial “conspiracy against state security” case. The specialized criminal chamber for terrorism cases at the Tunis Court of Appeal delivered the rulings early Friday morning.
According to the official Tunisian news agency, citing a judicial source, those already detained received sentences ranging from 10 to 45 years in prison. In one instance, the court dismissed the charges against a defendant currently in custody. Details regarding the names of those involved were not immediately available.
Defendants who were free pending the outcome of the trial received sentences ranging from 5 to 35 years. Charges were dismissed against two other defendants who were not in custody. For those convicted in absentia, the court upheld the initial sentences of 33 years, while increasing the sentences for some to 43 years, all with immediate effect.
In addition to the prison sentences, several defendants were also ordered to pay substantial fines and have their assets held in Tunisian financial institutions confiscated. The case involves dozens of opposition figures who have been imprisoned since February 2023. Initial sentences in the lower court ranged from 4 to 66 years, prompting widespread criticism from human rights organizations and defense lawyers who have characterized the trial as politically motivated.
The origins of the case trace back to a brief report submitted by the police to the Ministry of Justice on February 10, 2023, alleging a group of individuals were plotting against the internal and external security of the state. Based on this report, arrest warrants were issued targeting politicians, human rights activists, business people, and former officials. According to their lawyers, they were arrested from their homes late at night without being caught in the act of committing any crime.
Those arrested include leading figures from the Ennahda movement, such as Noureddine Bhiri and former leader Abdelhamid Jlassi, as well as leaders from the opposition Salvation Front, including Jawhar bin Mubarak and Reda Belhaj. Secretaries-general of various political parties were also implicated, including Issam Chebbi, Secretary-General of the Republican Party, and Ghazi Chaouachi, former Secretary-General of the Democratic Current party.
