A Tunisian court has handed down prison sentences ranging from 13 to 66 years to politicians, businessmen, and lawyers in a widely criticized mass trial that opponents claim is fabricated and emblematic of President Kais Saied’s authoritarian rule. The trial, which began in March and involved 40 defendants, resulted in the longest sentence of 66 years being given to businessman Kamel Ltaif, while opposition politician Khayam Turki received a 48-year jail term.
Prominent opposition figures such as Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Jawahar Ben Mbarek, and Ridha Belhaj were sentenced to 18 years in prison. Many of the accused have fled abroad since being charged. President Saied, who secured a second term in 2024 with 90.7% of the vote, has been accused of controlling the judiciary after dissolving parliament in 2021 and ruling by decree.
Opposition figures and their supporters have decried the trial as unjust and vengeful, with one defendant’s son describing the verdicts as an attempt to silence opposition voices. The defense lawyer for the accused denounced the trial as a farce before the verdict was announced. Meanwhile, authorities claim that the defendants, including former officials and intelligence chief Kamel Guizani, sought to destabilize the country and overthrow President Saied.
The opposition leaders involved in the trial accuse President Saied of staging a coup in 2021 and argue that the case is a ploy to suppress dissent and consolidate one-man rule. Most of Tunisia’s political party leaders, including Saied’s prominent opponents Abir Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, are currently imprisoned. The opposition had been working on a united initiative to address the democratic challenges facing the country but have been hampered by the crackdown on political dissent.
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