In Tunisia, the Court of Cassation rules on Thursday in the case targeting 34 personalities for conspiracy against state security, a case that has become the symbol of the authoritarian turn and political repression under the presidency of Kaïs Saïed. However, the families of the convicts have little hope of seeing the sentences overturned. In November 2025, sentences ranging from 5 to 45 years in prison were handed down on appeal.
Published on: 09/03/2026 - 12:14 Modified on: 09/03/2026 - 12:43
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This is the last hope of the relatives of the condemned, but it seems slim. After seeing their heavy sentences confirmed on appeal in November 2025, 34 personalities, including several Tunisian opposition figures, are awaiting, Thursday, September 3, a decision from the Court of Cassation in the so-called "conspiracy" case, which has become emblematic of the repression of the opposition in the country.
“It is a date which greatly surprised the lawyers and the families of the detainees, because the judicial holidays are still underway in Tunisia, and nothing suggested the holding of this cassation hearing,” notes Lilia Blaise, France 24 correspondent.
The opening of this hearing was in fact strongly criticized, with several lawyers denouncing a date announced at the last moment and considering that it had not allowed them to properly prepare their defense in this case with heavy political stakes.
Around twenty people gathered Thursday morning in front of the court in support of the detainees, brandishing signs demanding the release of several opponents.
The highest court in the country does not rule on the merits of cases, but only on compliance with the rules of law and procedure.
“We have no hope of liberation”
In the spring of 2025, 37 people were convicted at first instance for conspiracy against state security, then 34 sentences ranging from 5 to 45 years of imprisonment were confirmed on appeal on November 27, 2025.
Among those incarcerated are the lawyer and opponent Jawhar Ben Mbarek, the former centrist minister Ghazi Chaouachi, the former senior civil servant Ridha Belhaj and the activist Chaïma Issa.
For the families of the detainees, some of whom have been in prison since 2023, there is little hope that this cassation hearing will make it possible to overturn the previous judgments.
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"He has been imprisoned for three and a half years now. So there will always be ups and downs. Sometimes he is a little optimistic, sometimes he is a little pessimistic, but we always have hope. We cannot live without hope," Youssef Chaouachi, Ghazi Chaouachi's son, confides to France 24.
“Given the economic, social and political context that we are experiencing, we have no hope of a release, or anything of the judgment that will be rendered. We have no confidence in the Tunisian judicial authorities under the current power,” says Haifa Chebbi, lawyer and daughter of Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, 82, one of the country's most famous left-wing opponents.
Amnesty International, for its part, urged the Tunisian authorities to overturn convictions it considers "unfair" and to release the detainees.
The NGO criticizes "a collective trial tainted by violations of the guarantees of due process" and denounces the living conditions of the prisoners, worsened according to it by "the recent successive heat waves".
With AFP
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