Rights group warn of “sham trail” in Tunisia

The Ennahda Movement, a rights group in Tunisia, have described the trial of opposition figures in the country as “dangerous and deviant”.

The court recently held a trial remotely, in the absence of the defendants despite their catergorical rejection of such a move being made.

As reported by Middle East Monitor on April 12th, the Ennahda Movement said that the trial was “purely political” and “systematically excluding and harassing opposition voices by pressuring the judiciary to exclude opposition figures.”

The trial session was held for more than 40 individuals, including six who’ve been in prison for over two years.

The defendants have all gone on hunger strike, and Ennahda has affirmed their “absolute solidarity with the prisoners on hunger strike and with all political detainees.”

Most high-profile political opponents of Saied are now in prison, including Abir Moussi and the head of the Ennahda Party, Rached Ghannouchi.

The imprisonment of politicians has been accused of being a deflection tactic in order to distract the population away from the failure to improve economic and social conditions in the country, with some warning of the complete monopolisation of all powers by the authorities.

The President of Tunisia, Kais Saied has come under heavy criticism from the rights group and civilians alike, with hundreds of protestors taking to the streets of Tunis to protest against Saied’s crackdown on opposition figures, activists and journalists.

Saied has been accused of becoming a dictator since he suspended the elected parliament in 2021 and assumed executive authority over the country.

In October of last year, he swept to a colossal victory in national elections, winning 91% of the vote in an election that sae just 29% of the electorate turn out.

In the run up to the election in October 2024, one of the three presidential candidates on offer, Ayachi Zammel, was arrested on “suspicion of falsifying voter forms”.

Middle East Monitor, Maghrebi