The trial of several prominent Tunisian opposition figures accused of national security offences will begin on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from rights groups that have labelled the case politically motivated.
Among the approximately 40 high-profile defendants are former diplomats, politicians, lawyers, and media personalities—many of whom have been vocal critics of President Kais Saied.
The charges include “plotting against the state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group,” offences that could carry severe penalties, including the death sentence, according to defence lawyers.
Saied, elected in 2019 after Tunisia emerged as the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring, consolidated power in 2021 through a sweeping political overhaul. Since then, rights groups have warned of increasing repression and a decline in freedoms.
The list of defendants includes opposition politicians Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Abdelhamid Jelassi, and Issam Chebbi, a founding member of the National Salvation Front coalition and an outspoken critic of Saied.
In a letter from prison, Ben Mbarek denounced the trial as “judicial harassment” intended for “the methodical elimination of critical voices,” asserting that the charges against him were baseless.
Also charged in the case are activists Khayam Turki and Chaima Issa, businessman Kamel Eltaief, and former MP and human rights advocate Bochra Belhaj Hmida, who is currently in France.
Some of the defendants have been detained since February 2023, when authorities carried out a wave of arrests following Saied’s declaration that they were “terrorists.” Others remain free while awaiting trial, while some have fled the country, according to the defence committee.
On Sunday, Saied was seen in a video posted on the presidency’s official Facebook page telling a woman who sought his help for her imprisoned sons—who are unrelated to the trial—that he “never intervenes” in judicial affairs.
“Let this be clear to everyone,” he added.
Beyond this case, other critics of Saied have faced detention and prosecution under various charges, including laws aimed at combating “false news.”
In early February, Rached Ghannouchi, the 83-year-old leader of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for plotting against state security in a separate case.
Last month, the United Nations called on Tunisian authorities to end what it described as a “pattern of arrests, arbitrary detentions, and imprisonment of dozens of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, activists, and politicians.”
Tunisia’s foreign ministry dismissed the UN’s remarks with “astonishment,” rejecting what it called “inaccuracies.”
“Tunisia can give lessons to those who think they are in a position to make statements,” the ministry declared.
