![Tunisian Security forces. [Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Tunisian-Security-forces.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Security forces in Tunisia arrested lawyer and former administrative court judge Ahmed Sawab yesterday. Sawab is a member of the defence team in the “conspiracy against state security” case and was taken to a security headquarters in the Bouchoucha district in the capital.
According to lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi’s Facebook post: “Security forces raided the home of professor and former judge Ahmed Sawab, and then he was taken to the headquarters of the Tunisian National Counterterrorism Commission (CNLCT) in Bouchoucha.”
Ben Ghazi explained that a decision was issued preventing lawyers from meeting Sawab “for 48 hours, in accordance with the anti-terrorism law.”
Security authorities did not immediately comment on what Ben Ghazi had said.
READ: Tunisian court issues sentences of 13 to 66 years in ‘conspiracy against state security’ case
On Saturday, the specialised criminal chamber in charge of terrorism cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance issued preliminary prison sentences ranging from four to 66 years against 40 defendants in the “state security conspiracy case,” including 22 defendants in attendance and 18 in absentia.
The defendants’ defence team – which included Sawab – expressed its rejection of the sentences issued in the case.
The team said in a statement that “the trial did not meet the most basic requirements of a criminal trial, in addition to the absence of basic guarantees for a fair trial.”
The case dates back to February 2023, when a number of opposition politicians, lawyers, civil society activists and businessmen were arrested and charged with “attempting to damage public order and undermine state security,” “collaborating with foreign entities,” and “inciting chaos or disobedience.”
Among the most prominent individuals convicted in the case are Ennahda Movement leader Noureddine Bhiri, who was sentenced to 43 years in prison, and former Head of the Presidential Staff Ridha Belhaj, who received an 18-year prison term.
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