Tunisian activists protested near a Tunis court where prominent figures face charges of conspiring against state security in a trial that the opposition says is fabricated and a symbol of President Kais Saied’s authoritarian rule.
Rights groups say the trial highlights Saied’s full control over the judiciary since he dissolved the elected parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree before later dissolving the independent Supreme Judicial Council.
Forty people, including high-profile politicians, businessmen, and journalists, are being prosecuted in the case. More than 20 have fled abroad.
Some politicians were arrested in 2023 in a crackdown on opposition ranks, including Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Jawahar Ben Mbrak, Abdelhamid Jlassi, and Khyam Turki.
The former presidential chief of staff, Nadia Akacha, and former head of intelligence Kamel Guizani, are among the accused. They live abroad.
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