22 years in prison for a President. 66 years for opponents. 48 years for a thinker. 15 years for an imaginary denunciation. Conviction after conviction. Dictated verdicts. Judges transformed into executioners.
Welcome to Tunisia, Kaïs Saïed version.
THE CRIME OF THINKING, THE CRIME OF SPEAKING THE SIN OF RESISTING
Sentenced to 22 years in prison, Moncef Marzouki - the first president elected after the revolution - has been punished for standing up to the collapse of democracy, for raising his voice when others were silent, and for defending, to the bitter end, what remained of a dying ideal.
Charged with terrorism for a press conference.
This is the new Tunisian penal code: any criticism becomes a plot, any dissenting voice a state threat.
Alongside him, other committed and respected figures were also targeted: Imed Daimi, candidate in the October 2024 presidential election; Abderrazak Kilani, former President of the Bar; Abdel Nasser Naît-Liman, President of the Association of Victims of Torture in Geneva; and Adel Mejri, its Secretary General.
This is not a miscarriage of justice. This is a plan. A purge.
Mehdi Ben Gharbia, businessman and former minister, now sentenced to 8 years' imprisonment for tax offences, illegally, in defiance of article 55 of the Penal Code. A textbook case of judicial relentlessness, political instrumentalization and state vengeance. He will be tried in July for "plotting against state security". It's a well-oiled machine: when one falls, you prepare for the next.
Sahbi Atig, former member of parliament, accused in a delirious case of money laundering, built on the contradictory statements of a convicted thief who, seven years later, claims to have gone to the wrong house. No material evidence, no credible witnesses, no legal logic. And yet, 15 years in prison. But why? Because he belongs to the opposition.
Walid Jalled, prosecuted under cover of corruption and money laundering, while the judges turn a blind eye to the real corrupters, those close to the regime. Their trials are a farce: inconsistent witnesses, absent evidence, defense claims ignored. They judge not actions, but trajectories. Those who dare to exist outside the line imposed by Carthage Palace are punished.
And for those who can't be silenced, crimes are invented: Elyes Chaouachi, accused of terrorism for having named the judges responsible for the detention of his father, Ghazi Chaouachi. An accusation as absurd as it is sinister. The cold revenge of a regime on its last legs.
IN PRISONS, HUMANITY FADES AWAY
Sonia Dahmani, lawyer, columnist, silenced by state vengeance. Five prosecutions, prison conditions worthy of a totalitarian regime: no hot food, harassment, humiliation, pressure on fellow inmates. A free woman who pays a high price for saying "no".
Khayem Turki, locked in a cell where the light never goes out. "I'd like to see the night," he says. But he's not alone.
Moncef Amdouni, on hunger strike, harassed, humiliated, deprived of sleep, threatened with death by a fellow prisoner "sent especially for him".
Hattab Ben Othman, trade unionist, victim of a shaky and postponed trial, because even the justice system no longer knows how to hide its contradictions.
SOLIDARITY WITH RESISTANCE FIGHTERS
We salute Moncef Marzouki's unwavering fight. Whether we like him or not, whether we support or criticize his choices, one truth remains: under his presidency, no opponent has been imprisoned for his ideas. No journalist was taken to court for his words. No judge was dismissed for daring to be independent.
It's not a man we're judging. We are burying the legacy of a revolution.
BUT THE NIGHT IS NEVER ETERNAL
We express our unwavering solidarity with all political prisoners: Sonia, Sahbi, Mehdi, Khayem, Elyes, Hattab, Moncef, Walid...
With all those whom this regime is trying to crush in order to continue reigning through fear. You are not alone.
We refuse to forget. We refuse the role reversal where executioners disguise themselves as judges and resistance fighters become criminals.
To all magistrates who remain silent, who execute, who condemn without conscience: your robes are stained.
To this regime without legitimacy: we tell you. You will lose. Because no dictatorship has ever resisted the impulse of a free people.
