The so-called "conspiracy against national security" cases come one after the other. On May 6, 2025, the first hearing in the so-called "Conspiracy n°2" case provided a further illustration of this : beyond the title, the infernal mechanism remains the same, with a few variations in the profile of the accused, most of whom are political figures.
These include Rached Ghannouchi, president of the Ennahda party, who has already been detained for over a year and sentenced to several decades in prison in connection with other cases; his son Mouadh Ghannouchi , even though he holds no political office; his son-in-law Rafik Abdessalem, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; his advisor Lotfi Zitoun; Habib Ellouze, a former member of parliament, also detained in another case; and, from the Al-Karama coalition, Maher Zid, a former member of parliament.
Other personalities from a variety of political backgrounds are also among those charged: Nadia Akacha, former director of the presidential cabinet; Youssef Chahed, former Prime Minister; Rayen Hamzaoui, elected member of the Nidaa Tounes party and former mayor of Ezzahra; and Samir Hannachi, former adviser to former Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali and former President Moncef Marzouki.
Journalist Chahrazed Akacha is also being prosecuted alongside former senior Ministry of the Interior officials such as Kamel Guizani, already sentenced to 33 years' imprisonment in the "n°1" conspiracy case; Abdelkader Farhat, former head of the judicial police; Abdelkrim Labidi, former head of security at Tunis-Carthage international airport; Mehrez Zouari, former head of the special services; Fethi Beldi, former Interior Ministry official; and retired military officers such as Kamel Bedoui.
According to the Indictment Chamber of the Anti-Terrorism Pole, whose account appears both incoherent and contradictory, R. Ghannouchi and his party attempted to set up a secret network to infiltrate the State's security apparatus, recruiting young Tunisian Salafists with the aim of inciting them to commit terrorist attacks. The security agents and politicians mentioned are accused of supporting this infiltration operation. As in the first conspiracy case, all the charges and the indictment are based exclusively on anonymous testimony, with no factual, sourced or reliable evidence.
The CRLDHT :
- Condemns what appears above all to be a political settling of scores orchestrated by a justice system under orders, as well as the lack of respect for due process normally in force;
- Expresses its full solidarity with all the political and security officials and the journalist being prosecuted in what appears to be yet another judicial farce;
- Reaffirms that this wave of repression and systematic human rights violations can in no way provide the current regime with any legitimacy, nor mask its economic and social failures;
- Calls on civil society as a whole, in Tunisia and internationally, to support the detainees and their families. Beyond this indisputable infringement of the right to a fair trial, this is a fight to restore the democratic experience brutally interrupted by the coup d'état of July 25, 2021, and to defend the rights and freedoms of the Tunisian people.
