Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahda political party and one of the main opponents of the Tunisian president, Kais Saied, has been sentenced in absentia to a year in prison, his lawyer Monia Bouali said to Reuters news agency.
The 81-year-old veteran leader was arrested in April, and sentenced after being charged with incitement, as crackdown on opposition continues in Tunisia.
Earlier this month Ghannouchi refused to appear before the judiciary, rejecting what he said were fabricated political trials.
Ghannouchi’s party was the largest in parliament before Saied dissolved the chamber in July 2021.
Ghannouchi was the speaker of Tunisia’s parliament before Saied dissolved it and went on to seize wide-ranging powers through the coup. Ghannouchi was exiled for 22 years under the late dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, but had returned after the country’s 2011 uprising to become a dominant figure in Tunisian politics.
Beginning in early February, Tunisian authorities have arrested over 20 political opponents and notable individuals. This group encompasses politicians, former ministers, business figures, trade unionists, and even the proprietor of Mosaique FM, Tunisia’s most widely listened-to radio station.
According to Saied, those arrested were “terrorists” involved in a “conspiracy against state security.”
