GENEVA, April 25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The United Nations human rights chief on Thursday condemned the conviction of around 40 Tunisian opposition figures, saying their right to a fair trial was violated.

"The process was marred by violations of fair trial and due process rights, raising serious concerns about political motivations," the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

A Tunisian court on Saturday handed down sentences of between 13 and 66 years to defendants accused of "conspiracy against state security" and "belonging to a terrorist group".

Among those sentenced were vocal critics of President Kais Saied, well-known opposition figures, lawyers and businesspeople, some of them already behind bars, while others have been living in exile.

Lawyers representing the accused and their relatives have denounced the trial as "fabricated" and "unfounded", and pledged to appeal the rulings.

Turk on Thursday urged "Tunisia to refrain from using broad national security and counterterrorism legislation to silence dissent and curb civic space".

The arrest of Ahmed Souab, 70, a defence lawyer in the trial charged with terrorism-related offences over criticism he made of the court, raises concerns for lawyers' ability to safely represent clients, Turk said.

"Charges must be dropped where there is no sufficient evidence of illegal acts committed," he said.

Turk demanded all defendants be guaranteed their full rights to due process and a fair trial during the appeal process, while calling for an end to wider political persecution.

Since Saied launched a power grab in the summer of 2021 and assumed total control, rights advocates and opposition figures have decried a rollback of freedoms in the North African country where the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings began.