A verdict in the trial of numerous Tunisian opposition figures, accused of plotting against the state, was expected imminently on Friday, according to their defense lawyers.
The attorneys vehemently denounced the proceedings as a “farce.” The third hearing of the case proceeded for much of the day with both media and foreign diplomats barred from attending.
Defense lawyers protested the reading of the indictment, but the judge continued, stating that the “verdict will be announced after deliberation,” potentially on Friday night, according to attorney Ayachi Hammami.
Fellow defense lawyer Samia Abbou asserted that “the government wants a verdict today,” decrying a “flagrant violation of judicial procedures” and noting that the defendants had not been heard.
Abbou stated that “the decision has already been made,” labeling the trial “a farce, unheard of even under (ousted strongman) Ben Ali.” Another lawyer, Samir Dilou, described the process as “judicial madness.”
Approximately 40 individuals, including party leaders, lawyers, and media personalities, face charges of “plotting against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group,” potentially incurring the death penalty.
Following a judicial ruling that defendants could only participate remotely, several initiated hunger strikes to demand in-person attendance, their defense team reported.
Many of the accused have been outspoken critics of President Kais Saied, who initiated a significant power grab in 2021 after Tunisia’s emergence as the sole democracy from the Arab Spring.Human rights organizations have voiced increasing concerns regarding a decline in freedoms under Saied’s leadership.
Human Rights Watch recently reported an “increased reliance on arbitrary detention and politically motivated prosecutions to intimidate, punish and silence its critics” in Tunisia.