Allies say Ghannouchi ‘unjustly' held, as he marks 2 years in Tunisian jail
Marking the second anniversary of the arrest of Tunisia's prominent opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi, an international committee formed last year to raise awareness about his imprisonment says he is being held 'unjustly' and on 'trumped-up charges'.
The International Committee for Solidarity with Rached Ghannouchi called for the immediate release of the imprisoned Ennahdha party leader and former speaker of Tunisia's parliament.
In a statement on Thursday, it said that more than 15 cases have been brought against Ghannouchi, and 'several unjust convictions and sentences' have been issued.
The most recent of these was a 22-year prison sentence issued in February on charges that included plotting against state security – a case 'to which he has no connection', the committee said.
Earlier this year, Ghannouchi was also sentenced to three years for accusations that his party received foreign contributions.
The 83-year-old, who has been the main rival of Tunisian President Kais Saied, was arrested in April 2023 and sentenced to one year in prison on charges of incitement.
He has been a vocal critic of Saied, and became the highest-profile figure to be arrested in the continuing consolidation of power by the president who was elected in 2019 and has overseen a wave of repression and legal reforms that have expanded his rule.
'These unjust trials and sentences take place within the context of a widespread repressive campaign led by Kais Saied's regime, which is targeting opposition voices from all backgrounds, repressing organised action in all its forms, controlling the media and civil society, and silencing critical voices,' the committee said in its statement.
It said Saied's government has to 'exploit the judiciary as a tool for settling political scores'.
The committee's statement comes just days after United States-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Tunisian government to halt its crackdown on opposition and free all detainees.
The rights group said arbitrary detention was being used to eliminate dissent in Tunisia amid a trial of prominent opposition figures – including Ghannouchi – on conspiracy charges.
In a report released Wednesday, HRW reinforced opposition leaders' concern over what they call the authoritarian rule of Saied since he dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree.
The opposition described Saied's move as a coup. He has denied such accusations, professing he would not become a dictator but rather is trying to rescue the North African country from political chaos and rampant corruption.
The report said Tunis had turned arbitrary detention into a cornerstone of repressive policy.
'Saied's government has returned the country to an era of political prisoners, robbing Tunisians of hard-won civil liberties,' said Bassam Khawaja, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW.
Since 2023, authorities have arrested dozens of prominent political opposition figures as well as journalists, activists and lawyers in a crackdown critics say has undermined the democracy gained in the 2011 Arab Spring popular uprising.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
What has Musk accused Trump of in relation to the Epstein files?
The tech billionaire and owner of Tesla and Starlink, Elon Musk, has accused United States President Donald Trump of being one of the names in the still-sealed Epstein files, and claims that this is the real reason key documents are still being withheld from the public. In January 2024, many of the so-called 'Epstein files' compiled by US federal investigators were released to the public. However, some remained sealed. Trump's presidency began with a strong boost from Musk, who donated large sums to Trump's presidential campaign and was appointed to lead a newly formed federal agency aimed at streamlining government operations, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But that relationship fractured after Musk resigned from the role in May 2025, following mounting public backlash over fiscal policies and a sharp decline in Tesla's stock. Since then, Musk has become increasingly vocal in his criticism of Trump, calling his 'One Big Beautiful Bill' a 'disgusting abomination' for increasing the national debt and eliminating electric vehicle subsidies, and, now, accusing him of links to Epstein. Here's what we know about the Epstein files and Musk's accusations. The 'Epstein files' are a collection of documents compiled by US federal authorities during investigations into the activities of Jeffrey Epstein, the now-deceased financier and convicted sex offender. These files include flight logs, contact lists, court records and other materials documenting his activities and associations with high-profile individuals. The first major release of the documents took place in January 2024, when a federal judge ordered the unsealing of records from a 2015 defamation lawsuit against Epstein's associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. In February 2025, the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) followed up with an official declassification of additional documents, many of which had already leaked, featuring redacted flight logs and contact books. However, many documents remain sealed or heavily redacted, prompting public calls for full disclosure. US Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated that the FBI is reviewing tens of thousands of documents, with further releases pending necessary redactions to protect victims and ongoing investigations. On Thursday, Musk publicly accused President Donald Trump of being named in the unreleased Epstein files. In a post on his social media platform X, Musk wrote: '@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.' He did not provide any evidence to support this has not directly addressed Musk's claim regarding the Epstein files. However, during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House on Thursday, Trump said he was 'very disappointed' by Musk's criticism of the fiscal bill and suggested that Musk's opposition was down to the elimination of electric vehicle subsidies. 'Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday. Trump also threatened to terminate federal contracts and subsidies for Musk's companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, stating that this would save the US government billions of dollars. Trump and Epstein were acquaintances in the 1980s and 1990s, often seen at social occasions together in New York and Palm Beach, Florida. Their appearances together were documented in news coverage and social pages at the time, while US media reported the two became close during the 1990s when Epstein bought a mansion near Trump's Mar-a-Lago compound in Palm Beach. A 1992 video published by NBC News shows Trump and Epstein socialising and watching dancers at a party hosted at Mar-a-Lago. In a 2002 profile of Epstein by New York Magazine, Trump was quoted describing Epstein as a 'terrific guy' who enjoyed the company of beautiful women 'on the younger side'. 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,' Trump said. Flight logs released during court proceedings against Maxwell show that Trump flew on Epstein's private jet at least seven times between 1993 and 1997, occasionally with family members. Epstein's 'Black Book' – a contact directory obtained in 2015 by Gawker, a now-defunct US blog that covered celebrities and media – was later submitted as court evidence and listed multiple phone numbers and addresses for Trump, including his office, home and Mar-a-Lago. Once allies, Musk's relationship with Trump has deteriorated significantly since his criticism of Trump's fiscal policy and subsequent allegations about the Epstein files. Trump's threats to cut federal contracts with Musk's companies led to a 14 percent drop in Tesla's stock value. Musk has since called for Trump's impeachment and replacement with US Vice President JD Vance. This public spat has also drawn attention from political figures, with some Democrats demanding the release of the full Epstein files and questioning whether they are being withheld due to potential implications for Trump.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Why did the US block a resolution demanding an end to Israel's war on Gaza?
The United States has blocked another United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. It's the fifth time Washington has used its veto power since Israel's war began in October 2023. The US says it will continue to support its close ally while Israel says it will continue the war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated. So do the veto powers of the permanent Security Council members undermine the body itself? Even when resolutions are passed, does the UN have the capability to enact them? Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom Guests: Stephen Zunes – professor of politics at the University of San Francisco Luigi Daniele – associate professor of international law at Molise University in Italy Firas El Echi – journalist and host of the Here's Why podcast
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Supreme Court strikes down Mexico's lawsuit against US gun manufacturers
The United States Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit from the government of Mexico that argued American gun manufacturers like Smith & Wesson failed to prevent illegal firearm sales to cartels and criminal organisations. In one of a slew of decisions handed down on Thursday, the top court decided that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act shielded the gun manufacturers from Mexico's suit. The court's decision was unanimous. Writing for the nine-member bench, Justice Elena Kagan explained that even 'indifference' to the trafficking of firearms does not amount to willfully assisting a criminal enterprise. 'Mexico's complaint does not plausibly allege that the defendant manufacturers aided and abetted gun dealers' unlawful sales of firearms to Mexican traffickers,' Kagan wrote (PDF). 'We have little doubt that, as the complaint asserts, some such sales take place — and that the manufacturers know they do. But still, Mexico has not adequately pleaded what it needs to: that the manufacturers 'participate in' those sales.' The Mexican government's complaint, she added, 'does not pinpoint, as most aiding-and-abetting claims do, any specific criminal transactions that the defendants (allegedly) assisted'. The case stems from a complaint filed in August 2021 in a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts. In that initial complaint, the Mexican government — then led by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador — argued that the sheer volume of firearms illegally smuggled into its country amounted to negligence on the part of gun manufacturers. Those firearms, it said, had exacted a devastating toll on Mexican society. The country has some of the highest homicide rates in the world, with the United Nations estimating in 2023 that nearly 25 intentional killings happen for every 100,000 people. Much of that crime has been credited to the presence of cartels and other criminal enterprises operating in Mexico. The Igarape Institute, a Brazil-based think tank, estimated that Mexico's crime cost the country nearly 1.92 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) from 2010 to 2014. The US is the largest arms manufacturer in the world — and also the largest source of illegally sourced firearms. The stream of firearms that pour into Mexico and the broader Latin America region, for instance, has been dubbed the 'iron river'. Nearly 70 percent of the illegal guns seized in Mexico from 2014 to 2018, for instance, were traced to origins in the US, according to the Department of Justice. That has led countries like Mexico to demand action from the US to limit the number of firearms trafficked abroad. In its lawsuit, Mexico targeted some of the biggest names in gun manufacturing in the US: not just Smith & Wesson, but also companies like Beretta USA, Glock Inc and Colt's Manufacturing LLC. But the firearm companies pushed back against the lawsuit, arguing they could not be held responsible for the actions of criminals in another country. The Supreme Court itself cast doubt on some of Mexico's arguments, including the idea that the gun manufacturers designed and marketed their products specifically for cartel buyers. 'Mexico focuses on production of 'military style' assault weapons, but these products are widely legal and purchased by ordinary consumers. Manufacturers cannot be charged with assisting criminal acts simply because Mexican cartel members also prefer these guns,' Justice Kagan wrote. 'The same applies to firearms with Spanish language names or graphics alluding to Mexican history,' she added. 'While they may be 'coveted by the cartels,' they also may appeal to 'millions of law-abiding Hispanic Americans.'' On Thursday, an industry trade group, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), celebrated the Supreme Court's decision as a 'tremendous victory' against an unfair charge. It had filed an amicus brief in support of the defendants in the case. 'For too long, gun control activists have attempted to twist basic tort law to malign the highly-regulated U.S. firearm industry with the criminal actions of violent organized crime, both here in the United States and abroad,' the group's senior vice president, Lawrence G Keane, said in a statement. Keane added that he and others in the firearm industry felt 'sympathetic to plight of those in Mexico who are victims of rampant and uncontrolled violence at the hands of narco-terrorist drug cartels'. But he said the issue was about 'responsible firearm ownership', not the actions of gun manufacturers.
