By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Tunisian opposition leader and critic of President Kais Saied has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, increasing a string of other jail terms he has bagged in separate cases.
Rached Ghannouchi has in recent months received three sentences which surpass 20 years, over charges that also include money laundering.
Ghannouchi, who heads the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, was among 18 politicians and officials sentenced on Tuesday for “conspiring against state security”.
President Saied, who has been accused of a clampdown on the opposition, had in 2021 suspended the Tunisian parliament, and instead began to rule the country by decree.
Since then, local and foreign rights groups have reported growing political repression in the country, which was also blamed for the 2011 deadly uprising now referred to as the “Arab Spring”.
The legal representatives of the opposition leader denied the charges brought against the 84-year-old, saying his trial was politically motivated.
Right groups have in recent years condemned the jailing of opposition figures in Tunisia, saying the sentences highlight an aggressive crackdown against President Saied’s critics.
Ghannouchi, who has been in detention since 2023, refused to attend Tuesday’s sentencing remotely.
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.
Several journalists, lawyers, activists, and social media influencers have been jailed since 2021 along with the opposition figure.
Saied has denied allegations of repression, instead justifying his actions by saying they are aimed at bringing to an end the chaos and corruption which previous governments had tolerated.
