(MENAFN) A judicial tribunal in Tunisia has imposed severe incarceration penalties ranging from 13 to 66 years on individuals found guilty in the case labeled as “conspiracy against state security,” as per formal statements released on Saturday.

According to a news agency, the judgments were handed down after proceedings involving 40 people, some of whom are well-known political personalities.

The verdicts, which were announced in the early morning hours of Saturday, remain subject to challenge through the appeals process available under Tunisian legislation, the agency noted.

Those convicted include several affiliates of the Ennahda Movement, notably its head Noureddine Bhiri, former presidential office leader Rached Ghannouchi, and Issam Chebbi, the current secretary-general of the Republican Party.

Additional individuals associated with the National Salvation Front—a coalition representing opposition voices—were also found guilty.

The allegations presented against the defendants encompassed plotting to destabilize both domestic and international state security, establishing terrorist cells, and striving to forcefully alter the governmental framework.

Furthermore, the court decreed that sentences pronounced against those who remain at large and were judged in their absence would be executed immediately upon their capture.

This high-stakes legal matter has captured significant public and media attention, with family members of the accused staging demonstrations outside the courthouse during the course of the trial.

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