Tunisian Court's Authoritarian Crackdown Galvanizes Opposition

A Tunisian court sentenced opposition leaders and businessmen to lengthy jail terms, reflecting President Kais Saied's authoritarian rule. Forty people were accused of conspiring to overthrow the president. Rights groups decry the crackdown on dissent since Saied's power grab in 2021. Opposition plans to challenge the political purge.

A Tunisian appeals court has imposed sentences of up to 45 years on opposition leaders, businessmen, and lawyers, a court document indicates. Critics say this is emblematic of President Kais Saied's authoritarian tendencies.

The case involved 40 individuals accused of plotting to overthrow Saied. Twenty have fled and were sentenced in absentia, receiving sentences between five and 45 years, according to court documents seen by Reuters.

Rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, call this an intensified crackdown since Saied seized extraordinary powers in 2021. Critics describe the trial as a 'judicial farce,' intending to silence political opponents.

(With inputs from agencies.)