09-07-2025
Rached Ghannouchi: Tunisian opposition leader jailed for 14 years
Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, adding to a string of other jail terms he has received in seperate who heads the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, was among 18 politicians and officials sentenced on Tuesday for "conspiring against state security". Ghannouchi's defence team denied the charges brought against the 84-year-old, saying the proceedings did not meet the standards of a fair the past few years, rights groups have repeatedly denounced the jailing of opposition figures in Tunisia, saying the sentences highlight an aggressive crackdown against critics of President Kais Saied.
Ghannouchi has been in jail since 2023 and refused to attend Tuesday's sentencing recent months, he has received three sentences totalling more than 20 years, for charges such as money 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 Foreign Affairs Minister Rafik Abdessalem Bouchlaka and ex-intelligence chief Kamel Guizani were also sentenced in Saied suspended the Tunisian parliament in 2021 and began ruling by then, Tunisian and foreign rights groups have reported growing political repression in the country that sparked the 2011 Arab Spring opposition leaders have been jailed since 2021, along with some journalists, lawyers, activists and social media has rejected accusations of repression, saying his actions are aimed at bringing an end to the chaos and corruption under previous governments.
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