TUNIS, Tunisia/ANKARA

A Tunisian court sentenced those convicted in the “conspiracy against state security” case to prison terms ranging from 13 to 66 years, according to reports Saturday.

The Tunisian News Agency reported that the sentences were issued following a trial involving 40 individuals, including prominent political figures.

The court decisions, delivered early Saturday, are open to appeal under Tunisian law, it added.

Among those sentenced were members of the Ennahda Movement, including leader Noureddine Bhiri, former Presidential Office Chief Rached Ghannouchi and Issam Chebbi, the secretary-general of the Republican Party. Others affiliated with the National Salvation Front, a coalition of opposition figures, were also convicted.

Charges included conspiracy to undermine internal and external state security, forming terror groups and attempting to alter the government structure through violent means.

The court ruled that the sentences for fugitives, who were tried in absentia, will be enforced immediately once they are apprehended.

The Ennahda Movement said it "condemns" the "harsh sentences" against opposition politicians.

It said that the rulings were issued "without evidence proving the defendants’ guilt or through a blatant and total distortion of ordinary actions to frame them as criminal offenses with no legal basis."

The movement described the sentences as “a flagrant conspiracy by the authorities against political opponents and every free voice, aiming to eliminate the constitutional and natural right to oppose absolute one-man rule.”

The case has drawn widespread attention, with protests from the families of the accused outside the courthouse during the trial.

The case dates to February 2023, when several political figures, lawyers and civil society activists were arrested.

Human rights organizations and opposition parties have condemned the case as politically motivated, claiming it is part of a wider effort to suppress dissent against President Kais Saied. Authorities, however, maintain that the charges are related to national security threats and criminal activity.

Since Saied's exceptional measures began in July 2021, which included dissolving parliament, and the judiciary, and instituting a new Constitution through a referendum, the opposition has accused him of attempting to centralize power and undermine the democratic process in Tunisia.