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“Tunisia’s authorities must seize this opportunity to rectify a travesty of justice that has upturned the lives of 34 prominent opposition figures, human rights defenders and lawyers who were convicted on unfounded charges in a mass trial marred by due process violations. These defendants were targeted with politically motivated charges and should have never been imprisoned in the first place. Many of them have been languishing in jail with deteriorating health problems, with recent successive heatwaves further worsening detention conditions inside poorly ventilated cells.
“The authorities must overturn these unjust convictions and sentences and release all those arbitrarily detained in this case. It is time to put an end to this pattern of instrumentalizing the justice system to target dissent. Authorities must ensure that prison conditions across the country comply with international standards and that all detainees have regular access to their families, lawyers and adequate healthcare. “
Background
On 18 April 2025, following a mass trial based on unfounded charges and marred by a litany of fair trial rights violations, the Tunis Criminal Court of First Instance convicted 37 individuals, including prominent politicians, lawyers and human rights defenders, on spurious “State security” charges and sentenced them to terms of imprisonment ranging from four to 66 years.
On 27 November 2025, the Tunis Court of Appeal upheld the convictions of 34 defendants and imposed prison sentences ranging from five to 45 years, following proceedings marred by serious violations of fair-trial rights. Those imprisoned include Ayachi Hammami, Chaima Issa, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, Issam Chebbi, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ridha Belhaj, Khayam Turki and Abdelhamid Jelassi, Sahbi Atig and Said Ferjani. Several defendants have been arbitrarily detained since February 2023 solely for exercising their human rights.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.
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