Tunisia puts more opposition figures on mass trial

TUNIS:

A new trial of nearly two dozen Tunisian opposition figures accused of plotting against the state opened on Tuesday, weeks after a separate mass trial jailed nearly 40 defendants on similar charges.

The latest trial — known as the "conspiracy against state security II" — involved 22 defendants, including 83-year-old Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party leader Rached Ghannouchi, currently jailed in another case.

Youssef Chahed, a former prime minister, and Nadia Akacha, once the head of the presidential office, were also among the defendants, according to court documents.

The defendants were accused of terror-related charges, incitement to murder, and "plotting against state internal security", among other charges, according to a court document. The majority of the defendants are being tried in absentia, having fled the country, lawyer Samir Dilou said.

Ghannouchi was already sentenced in early February to 22 years in prison — also for plotting against state security in a different case.

He had been the speaker of parliament when President Kais Saied staged a sweeping power grab in 2021.

In this case, Ghannouchi as well as other Ennahdha officials stand accused of setting up a "secret security apparatus" in service of the party, which had dominated Tunisia's post-revolution politics.

Tunisia had emerged as the Arab world's only democracy following the ouster of longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, after it kicked off the Arab Spring uprisings.

Tuesday's hearing was conducted remotely with only four defendants attending virtually, according to lawyers.

Last month's similar trial had drawn criticism from the United Nations, which said it was "marred by violations of fair trial and due process rights".

But Saied dismissed the "comments and statements by foreign parties" as "blatant interference in Tunisia's internal affairs".

In a statement on Monday, Tunisia's main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front (FSN), called for "an end to sham and unfair trials", demanding "the release of all political prisoners".