Tunisia’s Top Court Confirms Heavy Sentences in Mass Opposition Trial
TUNISIA · JUSTICE
Key Facts
—The ruling: Tunisia’s Court of Cassation, the highest court of appeal, on 3 September rejected all 46 appeals in the case known as the “conspiracy against state security”, making the convictions and sentences final.
—The charge: The proceedings concern an alleged conspiracy against state security. That is the state’s characterisation, and it has never been accepted by the defendants.
—Who is in the dock: Around forty politicians, lawyers and public critics, including opposition figures Issam Chebbi, Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ridha Belhadj and Chaima Issa.
—The sentences: A court of first instance convicted 37 defendants in April 2025. An appeal court in November 2025 upheld 34 convictions, raised several sentences to 20 years and left businessman Kamel Ltaief with the heaviest term, 45 years.
—The defence position: Lawyers have argued throughout that the case rests on insufficient evidence and that proceedings violated fair-trial standards, including videoconference appearances imposed on detained defendants.
—What remains: With domestic remedies exhausted, several defendants have taken the case to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The Tunisia opposition trial over an alleged conspiracy against state security is now closed at home. The Court of Cassation’s rejection of every appeal on 3 September confirmed some of the heaviest political sentences since the country’s transition began, and pushed the fight into international courts.
What the Court of Cassation decided
The Court of Cassation examined 46 appeals on 3 September and rejected them all: 44 on the merits and two on procedural grounds, according to Tunisian radio station Mosaique FM. A cassation ruling reviews points of law rather than retrying facts, so the decision leaves the appeal court’s verdicts standing.
That makes the convictions definitive. The appeal judgment of 28 November 2025 had upheld the convictions of 34 political opponents and public figures, while acquitting three: lawyer and former minister Lazher Akremi, businessman Hattab Ben Slama and radio director Noureddine Boutar.
The case opened in February 2023 with a wave of arrests of opposition figures, lawyers and critics of President Kais Saied. Prosecutors accused them of conspiring against the internal and external security of the state.
The sentences now confirmed
A Tunis criminal court convicted 37 defendants in April 2025, handing down prison terms ranging from four to 66 years. Many of those abroad were sentenced in absentia.
On appeal, the sentences of five prominent defendants — Issam Chebbi, Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ridha Belhadj and Chaima Issa — were increased from 18 to 20 years. Businessman Kamel Ltaief had his 66-year sentence reduced to 45, still the heaviest in the case. Lawyer and former minister Ayachi Hammami had his term cut from eight years to five.
Chaima Issa, who had been free pending appeal, was arrested at a civil society demonstration the day after the appeal verdict to begin serving her 20-year term.
What the state alleges and what the defence answers
The prosecution’s case is that the accused conspired against state security. Defence lawyers have argued throughout that the evidence is insufficient and that the proceedings did not meet fair-trial standards.
A recurring flashpoint was the courts’ refusal to bring detained defendants into the courtroom. Both the trial court and the appeal court ordered them to appear by videoconference, and many defendants and lawyers boycotted hearings in protest.
The International Commission of Jurists called the appeal proceedings a “travesty of justice”, citing the absence of evidence justifying the guilty verdicts. It has also documented alleged ill-treatment of Jaouhar Ben Mbarek in detention and criminal proceedings against defence lawyers who spoke publicly about his condition.
The political context nobody can leave out
The case has run in parallel with a substantial concentration of power in the presidency since July 2021, when President Kais Saied suspended parliament and later governed by decree. A new constitution approved in 2022 concentrated power in the presidency.
Domestic critics and international observers describe a steady narrowing of political and civic space over that period. Tunisian officials reject the characterisation and describe the prosecutions as ordinary criminal matters.
Tunisia produced the only democratic transition to survive the 2011 uprisings, with a constitution in 2014 and repeated peaceful transfers of power. Its National Dialogue Quartet — a coalition that included the country’s main labour union — won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for steering the country through the 2013 political crisis.
Why this matters beyond Tunisia
Tunisia is a Mediterranean neighbour of the European Union, a migration partner and a borrower with a difficult debt position. Its political stability is priced into all three relationships.
European governments have been notably restrained in their public comment, a restraint that critics link to migration cooperation. That trade-off is itself part of the story.
What happens next
With the cassation route closed, domestic legal remedies are exhausted. Attention moves to international mechanisms. Eight of the defendants — including Ben Mbarek, Chaouachi, Belhadj and Chaima Issa — have already filed a case against the Tunisian state at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, alleging violations of their rights.
A second, related prosecution known as “conspiracy 2”, covering political and security figures and framed by the state as a terrorism case, is still working through the courts. Tunisia is also a party to international human rights instruments with individual complaint procedures.
For the country’s creditors and partners the calculation is duller but real. Political risk of this kind eventually shows up in borrowing costs and in how much external support is offered. That is the connection between a courtroom in Tunis and a bond spread: rarely immediate, rarely absent.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Tunisia opposition trial about?
It concerns allegations of conspiracy against state security brought against around forty opposition figures, lawyers and public critics. Those are the state’s charges and have always been contested.
What did the Court of Cassation decide?
On 3 September 2026 Tunisia’s highest court of appeal rejected all 46 appeals in the case, confirming the heavy sentences handed down on appeal in November 2025 and making the convictions final.
Who are the best-known defendants?
Opposition figures Issam Chebbi, Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ridha Belhadj and Chaima Issa, whose sentences were raised to 20 years on appeal, and businessman Kamel Ltaief, who received the heaviest term of 45 years.
What do the defendants say?
Defence lawyers have argued the case rests on insufficient evidence and that the proceedings did not meet fair-trial standards, including the use of videoconference appearances for detained defendants.
What legal avenues remain?
Domestic appeals are exhausted. Several defendants have taken the case to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Tunisia is party to international treaties with individual complaint procedures.
Connected Coverage
We have also reported on the domestic pressures the presidency is managing, and on the economy underneath the politics. Both sit inside Africa: The New Scramble, our running account of the contest for the continent.
Sources
- France 24 — Court of Cassation confirms heavy sentences, 3 September 2026
- Mosaique FM — 46 appeals examined, all rejected
- International Commission of Jurists — appeal proceedings, December 2025
- CRLDHT — timeline of the conspiracy case and the African Court filing
- Webdo — convictions become definitive
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