A Tunisian judge delivered severe sentences on Wednesday to several notable political figures and at least one prominent journalist, a move that has faced criticism from the media union and leading opposition groups as part of an ongoing campaign against detractors of President Kais Saied.
Among those sentenced is Rached Ghannouchi, an 83-year-old politician recognized as the country’s foremost opposition leader, who has been incarcerated for nearly two years. He is the co-founder of the Ennahda party and has previously served as the Speaker of Tunisia’s Assembly. Ghannouchi received an additional 22-year prison sentence for charges related to undermining state security, having chosen to boycott the trial proceedings.
The Ennahda party decried the trial as a politically charged effort to retaliate against critics, claiming that the prosecutions infringe upon essential human rights and civil liberties, thereby eroding the rule of law and revealing gross politicization of the judiciary.
The National Salvation Front, which is a coalition of opposition parties including Ennahda, released a statement indicating that the sentences handed down to various bloggers, politicians, and former officials surpassed 760 years. They described this as one of the darkest chapters in the history of Tunisia’s judicial system, which has recently experienced dismissals of judges and a loss of independence as power shifts toward Saied’s executive branch.
Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, a leader within the coalition, commented that the current judicial chamber is increasingly functioning as a tool for imposing harsh penalties on political adversaries.
The legal actions trace back to a case from 2019 concerning a media firm that allegedly provided assistance to several candidates during the presidential elections that year. Prosecutors charge that those involved are guilty of defamation, disseminating false information, money laundering, undermining state security, and unlawfully accepting foreign funds.
Ennahda has denied any collaboration with the media firm but still found itself targeted as part of the ongoing investigation. Rights organizations denounce such court cases as methods to intimidate Saied’s rivals. Despite winning a significant second term last October, Saied’s primary opponents, including Ghannouchi, remain imprisoned.
Ennahda’s recent statement reflected a sense of regression, asserting that the verdicts push Tunisia back to a time the populace sought to escape through their uprising, referencing the 2011 removal of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the first Arab leader to be overthrown during the Arab Spring.
In the years that followed Ben Ali’s ousting, Tunisia was heralded as a beacon of democratic progress, having rewritten its constitution and receiving a Nobel Peace Prize for political compromise. However, authoritarian tendencies have resurged under Saied’s administration since 2019.
Throughout his presidency, Saied has suspended parliament, enacted constitutional amendments to centralize authority, and clamped down on those criticizing his rule, including politicians, activists, and journalists.
The court also sentenced a number of Ennahda politicians who are currently in exile, including former Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, who received a 35-year sentence on charges similar to those against Ghannouchi. Furthermore, journalist Chadha Haj Mubarak was handed a five-year prison sentence tied to the same case, as reported by the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, which is advocating for her prompt release while condemning the court’s disregard for press freedoms. Mubarak’s attorney stated that her prosecution was solely reflective of her role as a journalist.
