00:00A Tunisian court started hearing on Thursday the final appeal of scores of
00:05opposition figures accused of plotting against the state. A crowd gathered
00:11outside the courthouse to voice support for the defendants.
00:19Today is the trial of Tunisia's future. It's not the trial of my son or my
00:24daughter. It's a trial of Tunisia. Today I'm proud of them because they stood up
00:29against the coup d'etat carried out by Kayse Seyed and his entourage against
00:33Tunisia. What we're living through is indeed a conspiracy, but not against those
00:37in power. It's against Tunisia.
00:43Last year, 34 people, many of them critics of President Kayse Seyed, were given up to
00:4945 years in prison in an appeal trial, a move denounced by rights groups and lawyers
00:54of the defendants.
00:58This case began in a strange way on the basis of political directives and instructions
01:02from the Minister of Justice. It will certainly end on political directives as well.
01:06We expect nothing from this justice system. We know that the judiciary is not independent.
01:11The only decision we're waiting for is the ruling on the appeal.
01:16Seyed was elected as president back in 2019, but two years later, in 2021,
01:22he staged a sweeping power grab, and rights groups have since criticized a significant
01:27rollback on freedoms.
