A Tunisian court has sentenced Rached Ghannouchi, the 83-year-old leader of the Islamist-rooted Ennahdha party and a former speaker of Tunisia's parliament, to life in prison plus 30 years on terrorism-related charges. The Tunis Court of First Instance handed down the ruling on Tuesday in what has become known as the "secret apparatus" case, finding Ghannouchi and dozens of co-defendants guilty of "forming a terrorist alliance" and of placing their skills at the disposal of terrorist networks. Eleven other defendants, including associates of former Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh, received life sentences alongside additional prison terms of up to 96 years, while thirteen others were given sentences ranging from 10 to 48 years. All defendants were also placed under administrative monitoring for five years.

The case has its roots in the 2013 assassinations of two prominent leftist politicians, Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, who were vocal critics of Ennahdha. Lawyers representing their families filed complaints alleging that a clandestine "secret apparatus" within the party was involved in the killings and had infiltrated state institutions. Authorities opened proceedings in early 2022, and the case was transferred to a specialist judicial counterterrorism unit in 2023. Ennahdha has consistently denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated.

Ghannouchi has been in custody since April 2023, when security forces arrested him at his home during a Ramadan gathering. He was initially detained on charges of making statements deemed to incite disorder. Earlier this month, a separate court handed him and three other Ennahdha leaders 20-year sentences in a related case. His health has reportedly deteriorated significantly in detention; in April, Ennahdha said he had been transferred to hospital as an emergency measure and called for his immediate release, a demand echoed by the opposition National Salvation Front.

Tunisian authorities have denied that the charges against Ghannouchi and his fellow defendants are politically motivated. The verdicts nonetheless mark a dramatic escalation in the judicial pressure on organised opposition in Tunisia — a country that was once seen as the Arab Spring's sole democratic success story before a sweeping consolidation of executive power began in 2021. For observers of North African politics, the case raises pointed questions about the independence of the judiciary and the shrinking space for political pluralism in the country.