Key facts
- Tunisia's Cassation Court upheld prison sentences of up to 45 years for opposition leaders, lawyers, and businessmen.
- The charges against the 40 individuals included conspiracy to overthrow President Kais Saied.
- The court's decision is final and cannot be appealed.
- Prominent opposition figures Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, and Ridha Belhaj were sentenced to 20 years.
- Nejib Chebbi received a 12-year sentence, and Noureddine Bhiri received 10 years.
Tunisia's Cassation Court on Thursday upheld lengthy prison sentences, some up to 45 years, for opposition leaders, lawyers, and businessmen charged with conspiracy. The ruling, which is final and cannot be appealed, marks the conclusion of a three-year legal process and has been decried by the opposition as evidence of President Kais Saied's authoritarian consolidation of power.
In total, 40 individuals were charged with conspiring to overthrow Saied, with 20 of them sentenced in absentia after fleeing the country. Lawyers for the defendants stated that the judiciary is not independent and that the imprisonment of opponents is politically motivated, suggesting their release is contingent on Saied's removal from power.
President Saied maintains that the judiciary is independent and denies accusations of dictatorial rule. He has previously labeled the defendants as "traitors and terrorists" and suggested that judges acquitting them would be complicit. Tunisia's justice minister has asserted that the defendants aimed to destabilize the country and depose Saied.
Human rights organizations have voiced concerns that Saied has exerted control over the judiciary since assuming extraordinary powers in 2021, including dissolving the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissing numerous judges in 2022.