Human Rights Watch has denounced the arrest of three Tunisian prominent activists and their unjust convictions in a sham trial on charges of conspiracy and terrorism.
On November 27, 2025, a Tunis Appeal Court sentenced 34 defendants in the politically motivated “Conspiracy Case”, including political opponents, activists, and lawyers, to between 5 and 45 years in prison.
The authorities have since arrested Chaima Issa, a political activist, Ayachi Hamami, a human rights lawyer, and Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, a prominent political opponent. The three were sentenced to 20, 5, and 12 years in prison, respectively.
“The arrests of prominent opposition figures are the latest step in President Kais Saied’s scheme to eliminate any alternative to his one-man rule,” said Tuesday HRW deputy director for MENA in a press release.
The defendants were unfairly charged under numerous articles of Tunisia’s Penal Code and the 2015 counterterrorism law with plotting to destabilize the country. Human Rights Watch reviewed judicial documents in the case and found the charges to be unfounded and not based on credible evidence.
Following President Saied’s takeover, the authorities have dramatically intensified their repression of dissent. Since early 2023, they have stepped up arbitrary arrests and detention of people across the political spectrum perceived as critical of the government.
The authorities’ repeated attacks on the judiciary, including Saied’s dismantling of the High Judicial Council, have severely undermined its independence and jeopardized Tunisians’ right to a fair trial.
