The trial of several prominent Tunisian opposition figures accused of national security offences opened on Tuesday, with rights groups denouncing the case as politically motivated.
Around 40 high-profile defendants are on trial in Tunisia, including former diplomats, politicians, lawyers and media figures. Some of them have been vocal critics of President Kais Saied.
In the courtroom, relatives of the accused chanted "Freedom" and accused the judiciary of acting on government orders.
Some defendants have been detained since February 2023, after Saied labelled them "terrorists".
Saied was elected in 2019, after Tunisia's Arab Spring, but he has since staged a sweeping power grab, especially from 2021. Rights groups regularly raise concerns over a rollback on freedoms. He was reelected in early October 2024.
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Brahim Belghith, a lawyer in Tunis, has denounced the "serious violations of the rights to a fair trial." He told RFI that they "are accused of being conspirators, traitors, fifth columnists, of all the evils that Tunisia has known", on no real ground.
'Unjust' trial
Politician and law expert Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Ennahdha leader Abdelhamid Jelassi, and Issam Chebbi, founder of the opposition National Salvation Front coalition, have all been charged.
So too have activists Khayam Turki and Chaima Issa, businessman Kamel Eltaief, and Bochra Belhaj Hmida, a former member of parliament and human rights activist now living in France.
The charges include "plotting against the state security" and "belonging to a terrorist group", which could entail hefty sentences and even capital punishment, according to lawyers.
Some have already been in detention for a while, and are not allowed to attend the trial in person; they are following it remotely, according to journalists present in the courtroom.
Their lawyers and rights groups argued this was unjust and demanded their right to appear before a judge.
Some remained free pending trial while others have fled abroad, according to the defence committee.
Several of the defendants are also suspected of getting in contact with foreign parties and diplomats amid the alleged conspiracy.
In a letter from his cell, Jawhar Ben Mbarek called the trial a form of "judicial harassment" aimed at "the methodical elimination of critical voices", claiming the accusations were baseless.
Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, head of the National Salvation Front (FSN) and himself named in the case, called the trial "unjust". He said the defendants were "figures in Tunisia known for their pacifism and respect for the law".
Contrary to his brother Issam, he remains free while awaiting the trial's verdict.
Lawyer Samir Dilou said the real conspiracy in the high-profile case was that of "the government against the opposition".
French lawyer Christian Charriere-Bournazel, who is defending some of the accused, described the case as "surprising".
"There is no evidence that justifies a plot against state security," he told AFP.
Pattern of arrests
The defence committee told news agencies that all the charges were "based on false testimony".
The United Nations urged Tunisian authorities last month to bring "an end to the pattern of arrests, arbitrary detentions and imprisonment of dozens of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, activists and politicians".
But Tunisia's foreign ministry dismissed the UN statement with "astonishment" and denounced its "inaccuracies".
"Tunisia can give lessons to those who think they are in a position to make statements," it said.
(With newswires)
