Authorities in Tunisia are ‘conspiring’ against the opposition, Salvation Front says

The Tunisian opposition National Salvation Front (NSFT) warned yesterday that “the authorities are conspiring against the opposition.”

During a seminar titled “Conspiracy and Conspirators? Overlapping Answers!”, the NSFT stated that “the authorities reject any call for dialogue and do not accept any objection to its decisions. Therefore, it viewed a meeting between politicians for the purpose of consensus and dialogue as a conspiracy against it.”

Judge Ahmed Sawab said: “The conspiracy began before this case. First, it was a conspiracy against the constitution, and then against the judiciary, by dismissing dozens of judges and dissolving the Supreme Judicial Council.”

Sawab told Arabi21 that the conspiracy case “includes 17 very serious crimes, divided between the Anti-Terrorism Law and the Penal Code.”

He noted that “the case needs to be academically studied to identify all its legal violations, based on adherence to the rule of law and institutions.” He stressed that “what happened was a corrupt coup that created a corrupt case and a corrupt judiciary.”

For over two years, a number of opposition politicians have been arrested on “conspiracy” charges. They have been imprisoned and face very serious charges, some which may be punishable by death.

The court is scheduled to reconvene this case in April, after the first session, which was scheduled to be held remotely, without the defendants in court, had raised concerns. It sparked widespread controversy and human rights condemnation, both domestically and internationally, for its failure to provide for a fair trial.

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