Tunisia hands lengthy prison terms to opposition leaders on conspiracy charges

FILE PHOTO: Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, head of the National Salvation Front, speaks during a news conference in Tunis, Tunisia February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui/File Photo

TUNIS (Reuters) -A Tunisian court on Saturday handed jail terms of 13 to 66 years to opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers on charges of conspiring, a case the opposition says is fabricated and a symbol of President Kais Saied's authoritarian rule.

Rights groups say Saied has had full control over the judiciary since he dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. He dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges in 2022.