Tunisia top court upholds mass convictions of opposition figures

Tunisia's Court of Cassation has rejected the final appeal in a mass trial involving dozens of opposition figures, activists, lawyers and businessmen. The ruling leaves prison sentences of up to 45 years in place for people accused of conspiring to overthrow President Kais Saied. It closes a legal process that has stretched across three years and has become one of the most closely watched political cases in the country.

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The court's decision was issued on Thursday, according to the supplied report, and covers 40 defendants in total. Half of those convicted had already left Tunisia and were sentenced in absentia. Among those named in the case were National Salvation Front leader Najib Chebbi, who received a 12-year sentence, and opposition figures Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek and Ridha Belhaj, each sentenced to 20 years.

Politician Noureddine Bhiri was sentenced to 10 years. The ruling has intensified criticism from lawyers and relatives of the defendants, who say the case reflects political pressure on the judiciary. One lawyer said the court's decision confirmed that the judiciary was not independent, while another relative said the legal battle was over and that the dispute had become political.

Lawyers also said they were told about the hearing only on Monday, which they argued left too little time to prepare a defence. Saied's government has rejected claims of political persecution and says the defendants sought to destabilise the country. The case matters because it sits at the centre of wider concerns about Tunisia's democratic direction since Saied was elected in 2019.

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He has ruled largely by decree, dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges, moves that critics say have weakened institutional checks on power. The mass convictions now stand as a major test of how far the country's courts can act independently in politically sensitive cases. They also deepen tensions between the presidency and a fragmented opposition that has struggled to challenge the government's direction.

The proceedings have been described by critics as emblematic of democratic backsliding in Tunisia. Saied referred to the accused as "traitors and terrorists" after arrests in 2023 and warned that judges who acquitted them would be treated as accomplices. That language, together with the scale of the sentences, has made the case a reference point in debates over judicial independence and political freedoms.

It has also drawn attention to the position of lawyers, human rights defenders and party leaders who were swept into the same prosecution. What remains unclear is whether any further legal avenue is available after the Court of Cassation's ruling. It is also not clear how the sentences will be enforced for those who are outside the country.

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