Tunisian activists gathered near a court in Tunis on Tuesday to protest the trial of prominent political figures accused of conspiring against state security. The opposition has dismissed the charges as fabricated, calling the case a symbol of President Kais Saied’s increasingly authoritarian rule.
Rights groups argue that the trial reflects Saied’s tight grip on the judiciary, which has been under his direct control since he dissolved the elected parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. He later disbanded the independent Supreme Judicial Council.
The case involves 40 individuals, including politicians, businessmen, and journalists, with over 20 of them having fled abroad. Several opposition leaders were arrested in 2023, including Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Jawahar Ben Mbrak, Abdelhamid Jlassi, and Khyam Turki. Among the accused are also former presidential chief of staff Nadia Akacha and former intelligence head Kamel Guizani, both of whom now reside outside Tunisia.
“This is one of the biggest judicial scandals in Tunisia’s history, a dark moment of injustice,” said Bassam Trifi, head of the Tunisian Human Rights League.
Saied has previously labeled the accused politicians as “traitors and terrorists,” claiming that judges who acquitted them were complicit. The opposition, in turn, argues that the case is politically motivated, aimed at suppressing dissent and consolidating one-man rule. They maintain that their only “crime” was attempting to unite Tunisia’s fragmented opposition against democratic backsliding.
Eight of the accused, including senior Salvation Front official Chaima Issa, appeared before the court in the trial’s first session. “This trial is a disgrace to the authorities. It is a purely political case targeting all opposition leaders,” Issa told.
Many key political figures remain imprisoned, including Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Ennahda party, both of whom were jailed in separate cases in 2023. Despite mounting criticism, the government maintains that democracy is intact, with Saied insisting he does not intend to become a dictator. However, he has also vowed that no one is above the law, stating that Tunisia’s “corrupt elite” must be held accountable.