Tunisia hands lengthy prison terms to top politicians and former security officials
Among those sentenced on charges of conspiring against the state in the major mass trial, were Nadia Akacha, the former chief of staff to President Kais Saied, local radio Mosaique FM said. Akacha who fled abroad received 35 years.
Ghannouchi, 84, veteran head of the Islamist-leaning Ennahda party, was handed a 14-year term.
Ghannouchi who was the speaker of the elected parliament dissolved by Saied, has been in prison since 2023, receiving three sentences of a total of 27 years in separate cases in recent months.
A total of 21 were charged in the case, with 10 already in custody and 11 having fled the country.
The court sentenced former intelligence chief Kamel Guizani to 35 years, former Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem to 35 years, and Mouadh Ghannouchi, son of Rached Ghannouchi, to 35 years. All three have fled the country.
Saied dissolved the parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree, then dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges, a move that opposition called a coup which undermined the nascent democracy that sparked in 2011 the Arab Spring uprisings.
Saied rejects the accusations and says his steps are legal and aim to end years of chaos and corruption hidden within the political elite.
Most opposition leaders, some journalists, and critics of Saied have been imprisoned since he seized control of most powers in 2021.
This year, a court handed jail terms of 5 to 66 years to opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers on charges of conspiring as well, a case the opposition says is fabricated in an attempt to stamp out opposition to the president.
Human rights groups and activists say Saied has turned Tunisia into an open-air prison and is using the judiciary and police to target his political opponents.
Saied rejects these accusations, saying he will not be a dictator.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
12 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Tunisia leader shows Trump adviser Massad Boulos images of starving Gaza children
Tunisian President Kais Saied presented US counterpart Donald Trump's senior Africa adviser with photographs of starving children in Gaza, official video of their meeting posted late Tuesday showed. Saied told US envoy Massad Boulos, who is also the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, that 'it is time for all of humanity to wake up and put an end to these crimes against the Palestinian people.' 'I believe you know these images well,' Saied was seen telling the envoy as he showed a photograph of what he described as 'a child crying, eating sand in occupied Palestine.' Saied showed Boulos several more images, saying that Palestinians in Gaza were subjected to crimes against humanity. Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people have endured 21 months of devastating conflict. 'It is absolutely unacceptable,' Saied was heard saying as Boulos stood silently, occasionally nodding. 'It is a crime against all of humanity.' More than 100 aid organizations warned on Wednesday that 'mass starvation' was spreading across the Gaza Strip and that their own colleagues were suffering acutely from the shortages. The head of Gaza's largest hospital said on Tuesday that 21 children had died from malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the previous three days. Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid. Following his visit to Tunisia, Boulos flew on to the Libyan capital Tripoli on Wednesday, Tunisian media reported.
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
Tunisia leader shows Trump adviser images of starving Gaza children
TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied presented US counterpart Donald Trump's senior Africa adviser with photographs of starving children in Gaza, official video of their meeting posted late Tuesday told US envoy Massad Boulos, who is also the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, that 'it is time for all of humanity to wake up and put an end to these crimes against the Palestinian people.''I believe you know these images well,' Saied was seen telling the envoy as he showed a photograph of what he described as 'a child crying, eating sand in occupied Palestine.'Saied showed Boulos several more images, saying that Palestinians in Gaza were subjected to crimes against is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people have endured 21 months of devastating conflict.'It is absolutely unacceptable,' Saied was heard saying as Boulos stood silently, occasionally nodding. 'It is a crime against all of humanity.'More than 100 aid organizations warned on Wednesday that 'mass starvation' was spreading across the Gaza Strip and that their own colleagues were suffering acutely from the head of Gaza's largest hospital said on Tuesday that 21 children had died from malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the previous three says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting his visit to Tunisia, Boulos flew on to the Libyan capital Tripoli on Wednesday, Tunisian media reported.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Once a beacon of hope, Tunisia's civil society struggles to survive
TUNIS: In May 2024, Tunisian activist Cherifa Riahi was arrested just two months after giving birth, accused of harboring illegal migrants. Over a year later, she is still in prison without charge. Rights groups see Riahi's case as a symbol of accelerating repression of civil society under President Kais Saied, who dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. The crackdown marks a significant turnaround for Tunisia, where civil society groups flourished in the wake of the 2011 uprising that unseated President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, inspired other Arab Spring uprisings, and helped shape a democratic transition. • Activists subject to detentions, threats • Groups report asset freezes and raids • President accuses them of serving foreign agendas As head of a refugee support group, Riahi had been helping sub-Saharan asylum seekers and other migrants find housing and access medicine and food. Her family says she did nothing wrong. The forced separation from her daughter and young son has been traumatic. 'The girl doesn't recognize her mother at all,' Riahi's mother Farida, who is now caring for her grandchild, told Reuters at their family home in La Marsa near the capital, Tunis. 'They took her while she was breastfeeding. We didn't even have time to understand what was happening.' Since Saied's power grab, at least a dozen civil society figures like Riahi have been detained on allegations activists denounce as fabricated, according to rights groups and lawyers. At least 10 civil society groups have had their assets frozen and offices raided, they say. The Tunisian General Labour Union, which won the 2015 Nobel peace prize with other civil society groups and could once bring tens of thousands onto the streets, has been sapped by the arrests of junior officials on corruption charges. The Tunisian government's media office did not respond to calls and written questions seeking comment about Riahi's case and those of other activists and civil society groups. Saied, 67, has accused civil society groups of 'serving foreign agendas' and undermining national unity. He has said he will not be a dictator and that freedom and democracy will be preserved, but that he will not allow chaos or interference through foreign funding or organizations that represent a 'tool of treason.' Activists warn that some of Tunisia's last surviving democratic gains are at risk as the judiciary, media and parliament have all come under tighter executive control and most opposition party leaders are in prison. 'The attack on civil society organizations is not an isolated incident,' said Romdhane Ben Amor of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, an independent advocacy group. 'It comes within the context of the authorities' plan to close civic space and to end the democratic openness achieved by Tunisians after January 14, 2011.' 'SEEN AS ENEMIES' In Tunis, the offices of I Watch, an anti-corruption watchdog founded after the 2011 revolution, used to bustle with dozens of employees, volunteers and journalists. These days, only three employees work on-site. Dozens work remotely, some fearing raids or arrests. Wajdi Belloumi, I Watch's president, said its bank transfers have been hindered and official investigations into the group are piling up. Hotels have stopped renting spaces for the group's events, citing vague instructions from authorities, Belloumi said. Last year, the electoral commission refused for the first time to allow I Watch to monitor elections due to suspicions of foreign funding. 'We're seen as enemies now,' Belloumi told Reuters. 'Many volunteers are afraid. Whistle-blowers have gone quiet. The pressure is everywhere — legal, financial, even personal.' Ben Amor said he had received anonymous threats and started looking over his shoulder in public spaces. 'People start saying, 'This man must be gotten rid of',' he said, referring to comments sent in private messages, or ''your son studies at that school, your daughter studies at that school ... I saw you on that street'.' Foreign governments that once championed Tunisia's democratic transition now prioritize curbing migration and short-term stability, rights groups say. Ben Amor said he believed he had been targeted particularly after speaking out against Saied's recent anti-migrant rhetoric. In 2023, the same year Tunisia signed a pact with the European Union aimed at stemming migration across the Mediterranean, Saied said illegal immigration was part of a 'conspiracy' to alter Tunisia's demographics. Since then, authorities have dismantled tents and carried out forced deportations — the campaign amid which Riahi was detained. Though the space for civil society groups is shrinking by the day, Belloumi said he remains committed. 'We chose this path — transparency, justice, accountability,' he said. 'And we're not walking away.'
