Tunisia: Court starts final hearing in mass trial of opposition figures

A Tunisian court started hearing on Thursday the final appeal of scores of opposition figures accused of plotting against the state.

A crowd gathered outside the courthouse to voice support for the defendants.

Ezzedine Hazgui, a leftist activist, said, "today is the trial of Tunisia's future. It is not the trial of my son [Jawher Ben Mbarek] or my daughter [Dalila Msaddek]. It is the trial of Tunisia. Today, I am proud of them [his two children], because they stood up against the coup d'état carried out by Kais Saied and his entourage against Tunisia. What we are living through is indeed a conspiracy, but it is not a conspiracy against those in power; it is a conspiracy against Tunisia."

Last year, 34 people, many of them critics of President Kais Saied, were given to up to 45 years in prison in an appeal trial - a move denounced by rights groups and lawyers of the defendants.

Haifa Chebbi, a lawyer and the daughter of Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, a leading opposition figure in Tunisia, said "this case began in a strange way, on the basis of political directives and instructions from the Minister of Justice, and it will certainly end on political directives as well. We expect nothing from this justice system. We know that the judiciary is not independent. The only decision we are waiting for is the ruling on appeal."

In 2021, the president staged a sweeping power grab, and rights groups have since criticised a significant rollback on freedoms.