TUNIS: Several jailed Tunisian opposition figures demanded a public trial, their relatives and lawyers said Thursday on their behalf at a press conference.
Around 40 people — including prominent politicians, lawyers, and media personalities — are facing charges of “conspiracy against internal and external state security” and “belonging a terrorist group.”
A number were detained in a wave of arrests in February 2023, after President Kais Saied had dubbed them “terrorists.”
With the trial set to begin on March 4, judicial authorities have scheduled a remote hearing for eight of the defendants, which their lawyers and relatives said was unfair.
They include politician Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party leader Abdelhamid Jelassi, and Issam Chebbi, a leader of the opposition National Salvation Front.
“We want a public trial, neither remote nor behind closed doors,” Ben Mbarek wrote in a letter read by his father, leftist activist Ezzeddine Hazgui, at the press briefing in Tunis.
“We are certain of our innocence, and if the regime shuts the courtroom doors to the public, it’s because they are ashamed of their fabricated case,” he added, denouncing what he said was “judicial harassment” against politicians, unionists and activists.
Ridha BelHajj, a former minister also detained, echoed the demand for a transparent hearing.
“Our trial on March 4 must be public, with our physical presence in court, and open to the press and people to guarantee fairness,” he wrote.
Lawyer Dalila Msaddek, from the detainees’ defense committee, said that while many are in custody, some remain free pending trial, while others have fled abroad.
The case has also named Bochra BelHajj Hmida, a former member of parliament and human rights activist now living in France, along with National Salvation Front coalition leader Ahmed Nejib Chebbi and lawyer Ayachi Hammami, both prominent critics of President Kais Saied.
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Detained Tunisian opponents demand public trial in ‘plot against state’ case
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Detained Tunisian opponents demand public trial in ‘plot against state’ case
- Around 40 people are facing charges of “conspiracy against internal and external state security” and “belonging a terrorist group“
- With the trial set to begin on March 4, judicial authorities have scheduled a remote hearing for eight of the defendants
Israeli settlers burn tents, vehicles in West Bank village
- Videos show masked men rampaging into the Palestinian village of Susiya near Hebron and burning vehicles and property
- Similar attacks have become common as settlers seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank
SUSIYA, West Bank: Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and tents in the Palestinian village of Susiya on Tuesday night, residents said, in the latest incident of settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Videos verified by Reuters showed a masked group of men, who residents said were Israeli settlers, approaching the village near the city of Hebron, and later burning vehicles and Palestinian property.
“They attack us almost every day, repeatedly, because we live near the main road...Last night they burned everywhere,” Halima Abu Eid, a Susiya resident told Reuters on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said they had dispatched soldiers to deal with reports of “deliberate burnings of Palestinian property” and had opened an investigation into the incident.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased sharply since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with over 800 Palestinians displaced due to settler attacks in 2026 according to United Nations data.
Attacks where masked settlers arrive at night to destroy Palestinian property or attack residents have become common, as Israeli settlers seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank.
An Israeli official previously blamed settler violence on a “fringe minority,” although Reuters reporting has shown well-organized plans to take Palestinian land in public settler social media channels.
The United Nations has documented at least 86 instances of settler violence from February 3 to 16, leading to the displacement of 146 Palestinians and the injury of 64.
Israeli indictments of settler violence are rare. At the end of 2025, Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din said of the hundreds of cases of settler violence it had documented since October 7, 2023, only 2 percent resulted in indictments. Israel’s far-right governing coalition has enabled the rapid spread of settlements, with some ministers openly stating they want to “bury” a Palestinian state.
Most world powers deem Israel’s settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.
Israel disputes the view that its settlements are unlawful and it cites biblical and historical ties to the land.
Videos verified by Reuters showed a masked group of men, who residents said were Israeli settlers, approaching the village near the city of Hebron, and later burning vehicles and Palestinian property.
“They attack us almost every day, repeatedly, because we live near the main road...Last night they burned everywhere,” Halima Abu Eid, a Susiya resident told Reuters on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said they had dispatched soldiers to deal with reports of “deliberate burnings of Palestinian property” and had opened an investigation into the incident.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased sharply since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with over 800 Palestinians displaced due to settler attacks in 2026 according to United Nations data.
Attacks where masked settlers arrive at night to destroy Palestinian property or attack residents have become common, as Israeli settlers seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank.
An Israeli official previously blamed settler violence on a “fringe minority,” although Reuters reporting has shown well-organized plans to take Palestinian land in public settler social media channels.
The United Nations has documented at least 86 instances of settler violence from February 3 to 16, leading to the displacement of 146 Palestinians and the injury of 64.
Israeli indictments of settler violence are rare. At the end of 2025, Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din said of the hundreds of cases of settler violence it had documented since October 7, 2023, only 2 percent resulted in indictments. Israel’s far-right governing coalition has enabled the rapid spread of settlements, with some ministers openly stating they want to “bury” a Palestinian state.
Most world powers deem Israel’s settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.
Israel disputes the view that its settlements are unlawful and it cites biblical and historical ties to the land.
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