Tunisia president calls for speedy trial of those accused of ‘conspiring against state security’

Tunisian President Kais Saied has demanded the speedy trial of those accused of “conspiring against state security” while criticising the lengthy processes carried out by the judiciary, Anadolu agency reported.

Speaking during a meeting of the National Security Council on Monday evening, Saied said: “With regard to those who conspired against the security of the state, and a number of them are still conspiring against the security of the state, it is time for them to be tried fairly.”

The president’s office released a video of the meeting, during which Saied said the judicial procedures had been respected, but noted that “prolonging them in this way makes those behind bars once again conspire against the security of the state.”

“Money is still flowing to them from abroad through associations,” he claimed.

Since February 2023, the Tunisian authorities have been arresting political leaders on charges including “conspiracy against state security,” which the opposition denies.

Saied says the judiciary system is independent and claims he does not interfere in its work, while the opposition accuses him of using the judiciary to prosecute those who reject exceptional measures he imposed on 25 July, 2021, and following which he expanded his presidential powers in what Amnesty International has called a “power grab”.

READ: Three scenarios facing Tunisia