Tunisia's Cassation Court on Thursday upheld prison sentences of up to 45 years imposed on opposition leaders, lawyers and businessmen convicted on conspiracy charges, according to their lawyers and families. The ruling completes three years of legal proceedings and cannot be appealed.
Forty people were charged with conspiring to overthrow President Kais Saied in one of Tunisia's largest recent political prosecutions. Twenty fled the country and were sentenced in absentia.
Opposition figures said the ruling entrenches Saied's authoritarian control. "The ruling confirms that the judiciary is not independent," said lawyer Haifa Chebbi, daughter of opposition leader Nejib Chebbi, who received a 12-year sentence. Prominent opposition figures Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek and Ridha Belhaj were each sentenced to 20 years, while politician Noureddine Bhiri received 10 years.
Saied has said the judiciary remains independent and that he would not become a dictator. In 2023, when most defendants were arrested, he characterized the politicians as "traitors and terrorists" and suggested judges who would acquit them were accomplices. Tunisia's justice minister has said the defendants attempted to destabilize the country and overthrow Saied.
Rights groups say Saied has controlled the judiciary since suspending parliament and seizing extraordinary powers in 2021. He dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges in 2022.
