Summary

Ahmed Najib Chebbi is a Tunisian lawyer and politician, aged 81, and the president of the National Salvation Front. His name was included in February 2023 in what became known as the “Conspiracy Against State Security Case,” in which he was accused of belonging to a terrorist organization. He was sentenced at first instance to 18 years in prison, a sentence that was reduced on appeal to 12 years. He was arrested from his home on 4 December 2025, in a move that constitutes a clear violation of his right to a fair trial and a serious infringement on political freedom.

Events of the Violation

Ahmed Najib Chebbi is a Tunisian lawyer and politician known for his long-standing opposition to dictatorship in Tunisia, which led to his imprisonment and arrest in the 1970s. He ran twice in presidential elections before the revolution as a challenger to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and after the revolution he was elected as a member of the National Constituent Assembly. He is also the president of the National Salvation Front, which opposes the regime of President Kais Saied.

Following his opposition political activity after 25 July 2021, Chebbi found himself accused of belonging to a terrorist organization within the framework of the case publicly known as the “Conspiracy Against State Security Case.” This case began in early February 2023 following a letter sent by the National Unit for the Investigation of Terrorism and Organized Crime and Crimes Against the Integrity of National Territory to Minister of Justice Leila Jaffel on 10 February 2023. The case included more than 40 opposition figures, human rights defenders, and activists who were charged with conspiracy against state security and belonging to a terrorist organization, based on their political positions and opposition to the authorities.

The case was marked by serious violations, including breaches of defense rights, the imposition of remote hearings, and preventing defendants from attending their own sessions, in addition to exceeding the legal limits of pretrial detention, as well as violations inside prisons, including ill-treatment of several political detainees. On 11 February 2023, a wide campaign of raids and arrests against a number of political opponents began. This campaign was considered the effective starting point of the file known as the “Conspiracy Against Internal and External State Security.”

On 21 February 2023, Ahmed Najib Chebbi’s name was added to the list of persons under investigation after conversations were found on the phone of politician Khayam Turki, leading to the drafting of an official report that was referred to the Public Prosecutor at the Judicial Pole for Counter-Terrorism.

On 3 May 2023, the regional Bar Association was informed that a judicial investigation had been opened against Chebbi. The following day, 4 May 2023, Chebbi stated at a press conference that he might soon be among those detained in this politically motivated case.

He was subsequently summoned for questioning on 15 June 2023, when he was heard by the investigating judge and ordered to remain at liberty pending trial, despite objections from the defense, which maintained that the case was political in nature and based on interpretations rather than on acts criminalized by law.

With the opening of the first trial session before the chamber specializing in terrorism cases on 4 March 2025, the court decided to hold the hearing remotely via video conferencing. Chebbi appeared at the court and then left, refusing to appear before the bench in protest against the failure to bring the other detainees and demanding a public, in-person hearing. The same scene was repeated at the second hearing on 11 April 2025, where Chebbi maintained his demand for a public, in-person session and rejected a trial conducted behind screens. At the third hearing on 18 April 2025, Chebbi again boycotted the session, yet the Court of First Instance in Tunis issued its judgments in the case, involving 40 defendants with sentences ranging from 4 to 66 years. Chebbi was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Following the appeal, the first appeal hearing was held on 23 October 2025 and was postponed twice. On 27 November 2025, Criminal Chamber No. 27 at the Tunis Court of Appeal issued a ruling sentencing Chebbi to 12 years in prison. The sentence was enforced on Thursday evening, 4 December 2025, when he was arrested at his home and taken to prison. Moments before his arrest, he wrote, ”I will not give up my dignity, nor my defense of the dignity of Tunisians.  I will go to prison reassured and optimistic.”

Human Rights Violations

The prosecution and trial of political figure Ahmed Najib Chebbi, president of the National Salvation Front, constitute a continuous series of serious human rights violations affecting the core of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Tunisian Constitution and representing a clear breach of Tunisia’s international obligations, foremost among them the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The gravity of this case is compounded by the fact that Chebbi, at 81 years of age, is an elderly man whose health and humanitarian situation require the highest standards of legal and human rights safeguards, not exposure to arbitrary procedures or trials that fail to meet even the minimum standards of a fair trial.

The inclusion of Ahmed Najib Chebbi in the “Conspiracy Against State Security” case was essentially based on his political activity and opposition positions, not on proven criminal acts. This constitutes a clear violation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Covenant, which states:  “Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.”  It also amounts to criminalizing legitimate political activity protected under international law, particularly Article 21 of the same Covenant, which guarantees freedom of peaceful assembly and participation in public affairs.

The violation is also evident in the unfair nature of the judicial proceedings, particularly the court’s insistence on holding hearings remotely without enabling Chebbi to appear in person before it. This constitutes a direct infringement of the right to defense and the right to be present in person before the court, in clear contradiction with Article 33 of the 2022 Constitution, which states: “An accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial in which all guarantees of defense are ensured,” as well as Article 14 of the Covenant, which affirms the public nature of hearings and the defendant’s right to effective and direct defense.

Chebbi’s refusal to attend closed sessions or hearings conducted via video link reflected his insistence on a public and transparent trial. Nevertheless, the judiciary persisted in a mode of proceedings that lacked the most basic guarantees of confrontation and effective presence, particularly given that the defendant is an elderly man of advanced age.

The case also clearly demonstrates the use of the judiciary for political purposes, in blatant violation of Article 117 of the Constitution, which affirms judicial independence and impartiality, as well as the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary. The first-instance sentence of 18 years, followed by a 12-year sentence on appeal, in the absence of serious material evidence, reinforces the well-established impression that the file is primarily aimed at silencing one of the most prominent critics of the authorities and transforming the judiciary from an instrument of justice into a tool of political pressure and score-settling, without regard to the defendant’s age or health and humanitarian condition.

In a media statement hours before his arrest, Ahmed Najib Chebbi said: “I have decided not to file a cassation appeal against the judgment issued against me. I no longer have confidence in the judiciary. Security forces are now surrounding my home, and I have gathered my belongings. I will go to prison with a clear conscience and optimism that relief is near. I will not abandon my dignity nor the defense of Tunisians’ dignity.”

The totality of the facts and procedures surrounding Ahmed Najib Chebbi’s case reveal a compound violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and international treaties, and raise serious questions about the extent to which the state respects its obligations to protect its political opponents and to ensure that the judiciary is not used as a tool to suppress political rights and fundamental freedoms.

Sources

• • First-instance judgment issued on 18 April 2025

  • Appeal judgment issued on 27 November 2025

• Phone call with his family on 3 December 2025