Critics declare Tunisia’s judiciary acts below political stress, as opposition leaders face prolonged jail phrases.
Revealed On 3 Sep 2026
Tunisia’s Court docket of Cassation has rejected in a mass trial the ultimate attraction of dozens of opposition figures, upholding jail sentences of as much as 45 years for figures accused of conspiring to overthrow President Kais Saied.
The ruling on Thursday closes out three years of authorized proceedings in opposition to 40 folks, together with opposition occasion leaders, attorneys, businessmen and human rights defenders. Half of these had fled the nation and have been sentenced in absentia.
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Amongst these sentenced have been Nationwide Salvation Entrance chief Najib Chebbi – sentenced to 12 years – and opposition figures Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek and Ridha Belhaj – every sentenced to twenty years. Politician Noureddine Bhiri was sentenced to 10 years.
“The ruling confirms that the judiciary is just not impartial,” mentioned Haifa Chebbi, a lawyer and Najib’s daughter, who mentioned her father and different defendants have been “silenced” by means of a case designed to imprison opposition figures. “Opponents entered jail by political resolution and can depart when Saied falls.”
Legal professionals claimed they have been notified of Thursday’s listening to on Monday, leaving too little time to organize a defence.
Dalila Msaddek, whose brother Jawhar Ben Mbarek was amongst these convicted, wrote on Fb that “the authorized battle is now over … what begins is a purely political battle”.
The case is broadly seen as emblematic of Tunisia’s democratic backsliding for the reason that election of Saied in 2019, who has dominated largely by decree, dissolved the impartial Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges.
Saied’s authorities has rejected accusations of political persecution.
Tunisia’s justice minister has mentioned the defendants sought to destabilise the nation, and Saied himself described the accused as “traitors and terrorists” following their arrests in 2023, warning that judges who acquitted them can be handled as accomplices.
