Tunisian authorities have arrested three prominent activists in recent weeks after their unjust convictions in a sham trial on charges of conspiracy and terrorism, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately overturn their unjust convictions and release all those detained.
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 Hammami, a human rights lawyer, and Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, a prominent political opponent, who 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 Bassam Khawaja, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "With these arrests, the Tunisian authorities have effectively succeeded in placing most of the political opposition behind bars."
Plainclothes security forces arrested Issa, 45, on the street in Tunis on November 29 after she took part in a protest denouncing increasing attacks on freedoms and rights. A video circulating online appears to show her arrest. Issa, who is in Manouba prison near Tunis, began a hunger strike the day of her arrest, her family told Human Rights Watch, and said that her foot was injured during the arrest.
Issa was previously arrested in February 2023 and placed in pretrial detention but released in July 2023. She was sentenced to 18 years on first instance, raised to 20 on appeal. Issa is a member of the National Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition to president Saied and a cofounder of the Citizens Against the Coup collective, both of which oppose President Saied's takeover of Tunisia's state institutions on July 25, 2021.
Hammami, 66, a lawyer and rights defender, was arrested on December 2 in his home in a suburb of Tunis. Earlier that day, Hammami's lawyers had filed an appeal before the Cassation Court, the highest court in Tunisia, and an additional request to suspend the verdict execution pending a final decision.
Hammami was initially a defense lawyer in the Conspiracy Case, but he was charged as a defendant in May 2023. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in the first instance, reduced to five on appeal, and is in Mornaguia prison.
In a prerecorded video posted after his arrest, Hammami said his arrest was political and announced a hunger strike.
Chebbi, 81, was arrested on December 4 after days of police surveillance around his house. Chebbi had boycotted the trial.
Chebbi is a lawyer who cofounded the National Salvation Front coalition. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison, reduced to 12 on an initial appeal. He refused to file an appeal to the Court of Cassation.
On April 19, a Tunis Court initially sentenced 37 people in this case to prison terms ranging from 4 to 66 years for "conspiracy against state security," and terrorism offenses. They were convicted after only three hearings in a trial that violated their due process rights.
The defendants were 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.
The Court of Appeal delivered its decision in this mass trial after only three hearings, held without the detained defendants, which violated their right to be physically present before a judge who can assess the legality and conditions of their detention as well as their health. Three defendants were acquitted on appeal.
All 15 people convicted in this case who are in Tunisia are now behind bars. Others who are abroad were sentenced in absentia. The court should immediately overturn the abusive convictions and release all detainees, Human Rights Watch said.
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.
Tunisia is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which guarantee the right to freedom of expression and assembly, to a fair trial, and to not be subject to arbitrary arrest or detention.
"The Tunisian authorities have effectively criminalized political opposition and human rights activism, crushing any hope of a return to a democratic process," Khawaja said. "Tunisia's international partners, including the European Union, should condemn the country's spiraling descent into authoritarianism."
