A number of Tunisia's most well-known individuals have been sentenced to long prison terms, report media in the country.
They are deemed guilty of "conspiring against the state's security and belonging to a terrorist group", claims the prosecutor. However, defense lawyers have dismissed the trial as "a farce" – the defendants were not even present in the courtroom during the proceedings.
Among those sentenced are party leaders, businessmen, and media personalities. What they have in common is that they are open critics of President Kais Saied, who is ruling the country with an increasingly firm hand.
It has been reported that the defendants risked the death penalty, but they have now been sentenced to between 13 and 66 years in prison.
