TUNIS, Tunisia/ANKARA

A court in Tunisia's capital held a third hearing in the trial of 40 opposition politicians and key figures accused of "conspiracy against state security," without the defendants present.

The case was filed in February 2023 against 40 opposition figures, including prominent politicians, lawyers and civil society activists.

They face charges ranging from "undermining public order and state security" to "collaborating with foreign parties" and "inciting disobedience."

The high-profile defendants include Noureddine Bhiri of the Ennahdha movement, former Presidential Chief of Staff Ridha Belhaj, Republican Party leader Issam Chebbi, former minister Ghazi Chaouachi and other members of the opposition National Salvation Front.

The Tunis Court of First Instance held two previous hearings on March 4 and April 11.

According to one of the defendants' lawyers, Fawzi Jaballah, the defendants refused to attend Friday's hearing in protest of the court's use of a remote trial mechanism.

Jaballah told Anadolu the trial began in the afternoon despite the absence of the accused.

He added that journalists were barred from attending, though some family members were allowed in.

Outside the courthouse, demonstrators, including family members of the defendants, rallied to demand in-person trials, which would be clear and transparent to the public.

President Kais Saied accuses the opposition politicians of "conspiring against state security" and being responsible for commodity shortages and price hikes. The opposition, however, accuses him of weaponizing the judiciary to target critics of exceptional measures he imposed July 25, 2021.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that has aggravated economic conditions since 2021, when Saied ousted the government and dissolved parliament.