The "Conspiracy Against State Security" Case in Tunisia: A Missing Justice and a Controversial Judge
The trial of dozens of political opponents in Tunisia, known as the "conspiracy against state security" case, continues amid growing protests from the families of detainees and human rights organizations challenging the fairness of the proceedings and accusing the judiciary of colluding with the authorities.
The Coordination of Families of Detainees has expressed its rejection of remote trials, demanding public sessions with defendants present in court. Jawhar Ben Mbarek, one of the most prominent accused, wrote from prison affirming that what they are experiencing is not justice but a direct attack on freedom. Wissam Al-Saghir, from the Republican Party, labeled the decision as unconstitutional, while MP Munia Ben Ibrahim called for live broadcasts of the sessions and urged for protests to coincide with them. The Salvation Front deemed the charges baseless and asserted that the goal is to exclude opponents.
In a new development, several political detainees announced a hunger strike in protest against what they describe as enforced detention and a trial lacking the basic conditions of justice. A statement signed by notable figures such as Issam Al-Shabi, Ghazi Al-Shawashi, and Rida Al-Hajj discussed the leaking of forged records, restrictions on media coverage, and the use of judiciary to eliminate political adversaries. The detainees declared their refusal to attend the trials and called on civil society and human rights organizations to support them in their fight for dignity, urging lawyers to continue their legal resistance against what they consider systematic injustice.
At the backdrop of this trial stands the name of Judge Lassad Chamakhi, who oversees the case. Chamakhi’s judicial record raises numerous questions, starting from his presiding over the trial of seven students in 2009 due to their religious and media activities, passing through his controversial ruling in 2010 acquitting Imad Al-Trabelsi in the stolen yachts case, to allegations of his involvement in a documented moral scandal and handing over a suspect to Libyan militias outside of legal channels in 2015.
Today, several judges and lawyers accuse him of executing the authorities’ directives in the conspiracy case, especially after he barred defendants from attending and rejected all requests for their release. Judge Ahmed Souab publicly labeled him a corrupt judge, while sources point to his closeness to Justice Minister Leila Jafal and his receiving promotions as a reward for his political loyalty.
In contrast, President Kais Saied stubbornly insists on holding the detainees responsible for destabilizing the country. However, the opposition’s stance, the detainees’ hunger strike, the realities on the ground, and also the movement of international lawyers from France, Italy, Morocco, and Algeria towards Tunisia to follow the case reveal that the file is no longer just internal, and the Tunisian president’s narrative is no longer credible to anyone.
