A Tunisian court has sentenced Noureddine Bhiri, a senior leader of the opposition Islamist movement Ennahda, to 20 years in prison over allegations that fraudulent passports and citizenship documents were issued to foreign nationals linked to terrorism during his tenure as justice minister in 2012. Bhiri and his lawyers have rejected the charges as politically motivated; he is already serving a separate 43-year sentence for alleged conspiracy against state security. The verdict deepens concerns among international rights groups over judicial independence in Tunisia, once celebrated as the Arab Spring's sole democratic success story, where President Kais Saied has presided over the prosecution of dozens of opposition figures, journalists, and activists since seizing expanded powers in 2021.