Tunisia: Journalists and human rights defenders among 40 defendants convicted in case of conspiracy against state security

GCHR condemns the sham trial as a tool to silence dissent, and calls for the immediate release of arbitrarily sentenced defendants and urgent reforms to ensure fair trials.

This statement was originally published on gc4hr.org on 30 April 2025.

Since February 2023, a series of arrests have been taking place amid the ongoing political battle in Tunisia, which continues two years later. This case, dubbed the ‘Conspiracy Against State Security’ Case, has shaken the Tunisian legal and judicial community, both locally and internationally. According to judicial sources, the charges relate to allegations of conspiracy against the internal and external security of the state, forming and joining a terrorist alliance, assault with the intent to change the state structure, inciting unrest, murder, and looting related to terrorist crimes, and harming food security and the environment.

This was considered an unprecedented trial in Tunisia, given the prominent nature of the defendants, who include human rights defenders, bloggers, journalists, and political figures. Among the most prominent defendants are members of the Ennahda movement, who were referred to the judiciary on charges of conspiracy against the internal and external security of the state, pursuant to Articles 68 and 72 of the Tunisian Penal Code.

Late on the night of 19 April 2025, the Fifth Criminal Chamber, specialising in terrorism cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance, issued prison sentences ranging from four to 66 years against 40 defendants, including opposition figures, journalists and human rights defenders, according to the first assistant to the public prosecutor at the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Pole, who confirmed the verdict to the Tunis Africa Press Agency (TAP). Details of the sentences are listed below.

Defendants Pending Final Adjudication

It is worth noting that the defendants who did not attend court were sentenced in absentia. Following the conclusion of the third session of deliberations, the rulings encompassed 37 individuals, including detainees, released defendants, and fugitives. Meanwhile, the names of three defendants were temporarily removed from the case after they filed appeals with the Court of Cassation. The verdicts issued against those who are not currently detained were declared with immediate enforceability.

Judicial rulings issued

1. Detainees

Hattab Salama is a Tunisian citizen with no connection to politics or political party leadership. Everyone testified that they had no prior knowledge of him, except that his only crime was parking his car in front of the house of Mohamed Khayam Al-Turki, mentioned above.

2. UNEXECUTED custodial sentences^[1]

Regarding the defendants who were convicted, the defense team explained that they will remain free pending appeals. Furthermore, the legal basis of the ‘State Security Conspiracy’ case appears vague in terms of its elements and the legal basis for the alleged crimes. Other unrelated issues have been intertwined with the conspiracy case, which remains, to this day, mired in allegations, speculation, and unproven assumptions. All of this has resulted in a sham trial that falls far short of minimum international standards for fair trial and due process. What is happening in Tunisia now is a clear example of the authorities’ use of a politicised judiciary as a tool to silence dissenting voices and crush the human rights movement.

3. Detainees in other cases

4. Defendants temporarily struck off from the case

5. At large

The Criminal Chamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance has set 06 May 2025, to hear the second part of the “conspiracy against state security” case. The investigations include 21 defendants, including Ennahda Movement leader Rached Ghannouchi, Nadia Okacha, the former head of the Ezzahra Municipal Council Rayan Hamzawi, Kamal Badawi, former Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, Ennahda Movement leader Lotfi Zitoun, as well as former security officials from the Ministry of Interior and other individuals.

In a similar pattern of systematic repression, a security team affiliated with the Bouchoucha Anti-Terrorism Brigade raided the home of prominent human rights lawyer Ahmed Sawab on the morning of 21 April 2025. He is a former judge and member of the defense team in the “conspiracy against state security” case.

Sawab has been one of the most prominent legal voices opposing current policies since the dissolution of parliament in 2021. He has participated in the defense of opposition figures in the state security conspiracy case.

Lawyer Bassam Trifi, head of the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LTDH), confirmed that the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Pole authorised his detention for 48 hours pending investigation. However, lawyers said that a judge issued a decision on 23 April 2025, to imprison him for comments critical of the judiciary. Authorities have not announced the reason for his arrest nor the charges against him.

Statistics indicate that more than 170 people are currently detained in Tunisia on “politically-motivated” charges. This comes as part of a comprehensive security campaign that began after the presidential political authority declared in 2023 a “war against corruption and terrorism in the comprehensive sense,” which the President of the Republic used as a legal pretext, devoid of any basis in reality, to target public freedom and close down civic space.

It is alarming that the judiciary continues to insist on undermining the right of journalists to access courtrooms and cover trials of public interest.

On 18 April 2025, the National Union of Tunisian Journalists issued a statement on its Facebook page, stating, “This Friday morning, journalists were prevented from entering the courtroom designated for examining the case known in the media as the ‘conspiracy against state security’ case at the Tunis Court of First Instance.” The statement added, “Our colleague Aida Al-Hishri, Vice President of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, was also prevented from entering and meeting with the public prosecutor at the court to resolve the recurring crisis of preventing journalists from working.”

Solidarity Protest March

On the evening of 25 April 2025, a protest march took place in Tunis, the capital. The march began in front of the headquarters of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists on United States Street (main photo). Protesters demanded the immediate release of human rights lawyer Ahmed Sawab, who was arrested for statements he made. Participants in the march raised the slogan “Free Ahmed Sawab,” calling for an end to the prosecution of civil society and political activists.

Recommendations

GCHR calls on the Tunisian authorities to:

1. Immediately revoke the harsh sentences issued against all defendants in the conspiracy case and release them unconditionally;
2. Immediately abandon the flimsy pretexts used to undermine fundamental freedoms and violate human rights in Tunisia;
3. Take the required steps to establish the principles of equality before the law and the separation of powers;
4. Implement international standards regarding the concept of a fair trial and due process;
5. Condemn the flagrant violation of freedom of the press and freedom of union activity, which are rights protected under the Tunisian Constitution.

^[1] NOT YET COMMITTED TO CUSTODY/At liberty pending enforcement of custodial sentence/ convicted but not yet incarcerated.