Tunisia’s opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi, 84, has been handed yet another prison sentence, adding to more than 20 years already imposed in previous convictions, including for money laundering. In the latest ruling, Ghannouchi and 17 others were convicted of “conspiring against state security,” a charge his defense team firmly denies, calling the trial politically motivated and fundamentally unfair.
Ghannouchi, a founding figure of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party and a longtime critic of President Kais Saied, has been imprisoned since 2023. He refused to attend the recent court session, denouncing the proceedings as a sham. His children, Mouadh and Tasnim Ghannouchi, who fled Tunisia amid escalating crackdowns, were also sentenced to 35 years each in absentia.
Human rights organizations have condemned what they describe as President Saied’s increasing use of the judiciary and security apparatus to silence dissent and consolidate power. Since dissolving parliament and assuming emergency powers in 2021, Saied has been accused of eroding democratic institutions in Tunisia, once hailed as the Arab Spring’s lone success story.
The European Union and international rights groups have raised alarm over the worsening political climate in Tunisia, warning that the country is backsliding into authoritarianism under the guise of anti-corruption and national security measures.
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