A Tunisian court sentenced the 81-year-old Rached Ghannouchi, leader of the Tunisian moderate Islamist party Ennahda (Renaissance) and former chairman of the Assembly of People's Representatives (the lower house of parliament) dissolved by the president in 2022, to one year in jail. This was reported Monday by the Mosaique FM radio station.
Ghannouchi was accused of "provocative statements" during a meeting of opposition forces to mark the anniversary of the founding of the National Salvation Front (NSFT, an alliance of parties and movements). He then said that "Tunisia is in danger of civil war if political Islam is eliminated in the country."
Earlier it was reported that Ghannouchi was charged with "conspiracy against state security, actions aimed at changing the current regime, as well as incitement to internecine strife among the country's citizens." He has been an active critic of President Kais Saied in recent years.
On May 15, the NSFT called on the Tunisian authorities to immediately release the political prisoners and stop the unfair trials against them. The Front warned the authorities against taking advantage of "the judicial apparatus and the security forces, which could drag the country into chaos, in which there would be a conflict between society and the state."
The Front condemned the continuation of "arbitrary arrests of political and civil society activists on the basis of false accusations." The NSFT called on "all political and civil forces to overcome ideological differences in order to restore constitutional legitimacy and develop a coherent plan for economic reforms that can preserve the democratic experience and lead the country out of economic crisis."
Arrests and crisis
Since the beginning of the year, Tunisian police have detained and arrested several political activists, including members of the leadership of the Ennahda party. Some of them are suspected by authorities of involvement in a plot against state security.
Tunisia has had an acute political crisis since 2021 as a result of the confrontation between the president and parliament. The opposition accuses the head of state, Kais Saied, of trying to concentrate the most important levers of power in his hands and establish a dictatorship. The socio-economic situation in the country is deteriorating rapidly, with rising food prices and inflation.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
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Based on materials from TASS