Rached Ghannouchi: Tunisian opposition leader jailed for 14 years
Ghannouchi has been in jail since 2023 and refused to attend Tuesday's sentencing remotely.In recent months, he has received three sentences totalling more than 20 years, for charges such as money laundering.According to news agency Tunis Afrique Presse, Ghannouchi's children, Mouadh and Tasnim, were also sentenced on Tuesday, although they had already fled the country. Both received 35-year sentences in absentia.Former Foreign Affairs Minister Rafik Abdessalem Bouchlaka and ex-intelligence chief Kamel Guizani were also sentenced in absentia.President Saied suspended the Tunisian parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree.Since then, Tunisian and foreign rights groups have reported growing political repression in the country that sparked the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.Most opposition leaders have been jailed since 2021, along with some journalists, lawyers, activists and social media users.Saied has rejected accusations of repression, saying his actions are aimed at bringing an end to the chaos and corruption under previous governments.
More stories from Tunisia:
Is democracy in Tunisia being destroyed?Pink flamingos 'seized from smugglers' in TunisiaTunisia lawyer arrested during live news broadcast
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Warning after tortoise 'smuggled into UK in cigarette packet'
A woman who allegedly bought a baby tortoise for £10 at a Tunisian market then smuggled it into the UK in a cigarette packet has sparked a police 29-year-old woman from Boston is being investigated by Lincolnshire Police on suspicion of bringing the reptile into the country without a is believed to be a Testudo graeca - also known as a Greek tortoise - which is an endangered species protected under international law."We are using this report to warn and educate the public about the dangers and legal consequences of buying exotic animals abroad," a Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said. The incident has also been criticised by Wild Things Rescue UK, where the tortoise - named Gulliver - is now being cared Steele, from the charity, said the animal was "not in the best condition" when he arrived."It was a surprise to be asked to care for an animal from Tunisia, especially under such distressing circumstances," she said."He is a wild animal, not an accessory and should never have been treated this way." The suspected offences came under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 2018 and the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and can result in a fine or up to seven years in Con Aaron Flint, from the force, urged anyone thinking about bringing animals into the UK to check laws."What may seem like an innocent souvenir - even if purchased for a small amount -can result in serious criminal charges," he said."Don't take the risk – the consequences can be severe."Anyone with information about the potential illegal trade or importation of endangered species should contact the force. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
Times
2 days ago
- Times
EU wants UN backing for Rwanda-style migrant ‘return hubs'
The European Union is seeking United Nations support for plans to forcibly deport failed asylum seekers or illegal migrants to 'return hubs' outside Europe, to avoid the legal challenges that sank Britain's Rwanda scheme. European interior ministers will hear presentations from the UN on the conditions for its refugee agency to take part in, and approve, deportation or 'place of safety' centres in countries such as Tunisia, Mauritania, Jordan, Egypt or Uganda. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, last year called for an exploration of return hubs in a letter to the EU's national leaders, citing a deal between Italy and Albania as a possible model. Kaare Dybvad, the Danish immigration minister, who is chairing the talks in Copenhagen, stressed that the plans were urgently needed to 'get control of migration flow back into the democratic sphere', as European elections show increasing gains for nationalist and populist parties. 'The European asylum system is broken and we need innovative solutions,' he said before the talks. 'We are under pressure. We need to return people faster, we need to make innovative solutions and agreements outside of the EU.' Up to 80 per cent of failed asylum seekers — half of those who apply — who were ordered to leave countries across Europe have not done so, including dangerous criminals and terror suspects who have gone on to carry out attacks. While the EU is moving towards plans similar to the British Rwanda model — of setting up centres outside Europe to deter asylum seekers — governments want to ensure that plans are legally watertight, especially after judicial challenges to the Italian scheme in Albania. Crucially, under these plans, migrants housed in the 'return hubs' would already have been refused asylum — unlike those covered in Britain's Rwanda plan or Italy's Albanian asylum centres. 'It is part of the legislative work that we have to do now and to make sure it is possible,' said Dybvad. 'Return hubs are about returning people who are already rejected as asylum seekers. Reception centres as in Albania … as in Rwanda, that is about processing asylum claims. We need to make our own European model for these solutions.' On top of deportations, the EU is additionally looking at 'places of safety' centres for temporary reception and screening of refugees. UN involvement is seen as vital to making these proposals legally watertight and preventing judges from striking down plans. A 2023 ruling in the British Supreme Court against the Rwanda scheme followed a warning from the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, that it potentially breached the international conventions that set rules for asylum. A diplomat said: 'It is about showing that this is not a taboo with the UN and that we can work with them to make it more legally viable.' The UNHCR has not ruled out supporting the EU deportation centres but has asked for many legal safeguards that would water down and restrict the powers that national governments would have to detain and deport failed asylum seekers. Under a new EU return directive, tabled in March, deportations will be carried out either to the migrant's country of origin, or a country they transited through as well as a new option of a 'return hub' — an idea that was previously ruled out as illegal. The UN is opposed to EU proposals that failed asylum seekers or foreign criminals will no longer be able to have their deportations suspended while their appeal is heard, a loophole that often allows people to disappear upon their release. Bruno Retailleau, the French interior minister, warned that the status quo was not an option. He said: 'Today our states are totally disarmed, especially for forced removals. Throughout Europe, whether governments are conservative or social democrat, all the peoples have the same demand: control of mass immigration that has completely escaped us.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Greece arrests hundreds of migrants after imposing asylum freeze
Greece has detained nearly 200 migrants who arrived after an asylum freeze imposed on claimants from North Africa. 'The illegal immigrants who entered from Libya in recent hours were arrested by the coast guard,' migration minister Thanos Plevris said on X on Saturday. 'They do not have the right to apply for asylum, they will not be taken to reception centers, but will be held in police custody until the process of their return is initiated,' he added. The 190 migrants arrived in three groups south of the island of Crete, the coastguard told AFP. A fourth group of 11 people was found near the island of Agathonisi, opposite the Turkish coast. State TV ERT reported one of them was injured and later died in hospital. The move marks a further hardening of Greece's stance towards migrants under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right government, which has built a fence at its northern land borders and boosted sea patrols since it came to power in 2019. Greece is experiencing a rise in migrant arrivals from Libya, mainly landing in Crete, the home island of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Over 2,000 people have landed just in July, sparking anger among local officials and tourism operators who have put pressure on the conservative government to take action to stop the flows. The government has declared a three-month suspension on asylum requests from any persons arriving by sea from North Africa. Earlier this month, dozens of migrants were seen in shocking footage leaping off a boat and running onto a beach in front of tourists on a Greek holiday island. In one clip, recorded at Diskos beach in the south of Crete, a group of asylum seekers were seen crammed in to a small boat as it bobbed near the shoreline. The concerning levels of sea arrivals prompted a visit by Greece's foreign minister George Gerapetritis to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar this month. Last month Athens also said it would deploy two frigates near Libyan territorial waters to help stem the flow. It urged Libya to cooperate more closely with Greece and the EU to stop migrants sailing from there or turn them back before they exit Libyan territorial waters. The North African country has remained deeply divided since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi. Human rights groups accuse Greece of forcefully turning back asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders. This year, the European Union border agency said it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece. The government denies wrongdoing. Greece was on the front line of migration crisis in 2015-16 when hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa passed through its islands and mainland.
