Tunisia’s Highest Court Upholds Long Prison Sentences for Opposition Figures

Tunisia’s Court of Cassation rejected appeals and confirmed prison terms ranging up to 45 years for dozens of opposition activists, lawyers and human-rights defenders. The convictions stem from a state-security case in which the defendants were accused of conspiracy against internal and external security, forming or joining a terrorist organization, and attempting to alter the form of the state. Their lawyers had argued that the hearing notice—delivered only three days before the session—was insufficient to prepare a defense.

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The case is part of a broader repression that intensified after President Kais Saied suspended parliament, dismissed the government and began ruling by decree in mid-2021. Since then, opposition activists, journalists and lawyers have faced arrests and prosecutions. Saied, elected in 2019 on a platform of reforming a failing political system, has repeatedly framed the prosecutions as necessary for national security, labeling some opponents “traitors” and “terrorists.”

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Among those sentenced are former opposition leader Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, activist Chaima Issa, former parliamentarian Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, lawyer Ghazi Chaouachi, political figure Ayachi Hammami, Khayam Turki and Abdelhamid Jelassi. Several defendants spent years in pre-trial detention; others were released on bail before being re-arrested to serve their sentences after the appeals court’s verdict.

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President Saied defended the prosecutions as essential to combat corruption and foreign threats, rejecting accusations that the measures suppress dissent. Families of the detainees, represented by figures such as Faiza Rahem, have pledged to continue legal battles, describing the process as increasingly political. Defense lawyers highlighted procedural concerns, particularly the brief notice of the hearing.

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Amnesty International called the case politically motivated and criticized the trial for due-process violations. The organization warned that many prisoners are suffering deteriorating health, exacerbated by heat waves and poorly ventilated cells. Haifa Chebbi, a lawyer and daughter of Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, reported that her father, now 82, experiences shortness of breath and severe fatigue.

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