Several officials of Tunisia's Ennahdha party, including its 84-year-old chief Rached Ghannouchi, were handed jail sentences on Tuesday ranging from 10 years to life in prison on terror charges, the party and reports said.

Ghannouchi and other Ennahdha leaders were accused of establishing a "secret security apparatus" in service of the party which won the elections in 2011.

Ghannouchi was handed 30 years in prison plus life imprisonment, Tunisian media said, with reports on the sentences confirmed by the party.

Retired military officer Kamel ben Bedoui also received a life sentence along with 32 years in prison, according to reports.

And former prime minister Ali Laarayedh was sentenced to 42 years in prison, reports added.

He has been detained since 2022 and has also been convicted in a separate case for allegedly helping send jihadist fighters to Iraq and Syria.

Ghannouchi was arrested in 2023 and received several sentences in separate cases totalling over 40 years in prison including over "conspiracy against state security" prior to Tuesday's ruling.

Critics have charged that the rulings against the opposition figure were politically motivated.

Ennahdha on Tuesday said the ruling "lacked the most basic conditions for justice".

Ennahdha played a key role in Tunisian politics for years before Ghannouchi was hit with the multiple prison terms.