24 April 2025. Kaïs Saïed’s regime has handed down a combined total of over 1,000 years in prison sentences to 40 prisoners of conscience — including lawyers, politicians, human rights defenders, researchers, and journalists. To achieve this, the Tunisian authorities relied on a range of charges drawn from the 2015 anti-terrorism law and the colonial-era penal code, criminalising ordinary political and civil society activities and fabricating what is now known as the so-called "conspiracy" case.
The closure of this sham trial in no way signals the end, or even a slowdown, of political persecution in Tunisia. The latest episode is the arrest of lawyer and former judge Ahmed Souab on 21 April 2025. According to the spokesperson for Tunisia’s anti-terrorism unit, he is accused of "terrorist offences" and "common law crimes". This arrest followed public statements by Mr. Souab in which he criticized the conditions of the so-called "conspiracy against state security" trial and denounced the executive’s interference in judicial affairs. He notably described the trial as a "parody of justice" and accused the authorities of "holding a knife to the judges’ throats".
"Kaïs Saïed wanted to make an example. With his characteristic vulgarity, he sought to show that he has no basic respect for human decency. Individuals who, just a few years ago, were participating in a developing democracy have now been sentenced to harsh prison terms — some of which will deprive them of their freedom for the rest of their lives. These verdicts are cruel and undignified", said Yosra Frawes, Director of the Maghreb and Middle East Office at FIDH.
"This trial was the last line of defense. We no longer had illusions, but we still held out hope for a surge of conscience from the judges, or at least some form of restraint from those in power. Now, we are left with the bitter realisation that a dictatorship worse than the previous one has taken hold in Tunisia, one that stages mock trials and sentences political prisoners by the dozens", said Aissa Rahmoune, Secretary General of FIDH.
In Tunisia, the persecution of political opponents is compounded by serious human rights violations against migrants, committed by the current authorities and documented by human rights organisations. In complete contradiction to these facts, the European Commission, pushed by Italy, proposed last week to designate Tunisia as a "safe country". If approved by the European Parliament, such a decision would restrict asylum applications from Tunisia and would de facto confirm Europe’s support for Kaïs Saïed’s repressive policies.
In the face of a dictatorship that suppresses and imprisons all real or perceived opposition, FIDH calls on the European Union (EU) to reevaluate all ongoing cooperation agreements with the Tunisian government and to make them strictly conditional on the respect of human rights, as well as to provide increased support to Tunisian civil society, the last remaining guardian of democratic hopes in the country.