Tunisian Court Sentences Opposition Leaders Including Ghannouchi to Up to 14 Years

Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison as part of a broader crackdown by President Kais Saied on political opponents. Ghannouchi, who has been jailed since 2023 and refused to attend his trial, faces multiple charges including conspiring against state security and money laundering, with combined sentences exceeding 20 years. Alongside Ghannouchi, about 18 other politicians and officials, including his children and former government figures, received lengthy sentences, some in absentia, for alleged conspiracies and terrorist-related activities. Since Saied suspended parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree, there has been a significant increase in political repression, with many opposition leaders, journalists, and activists imprisoned. Rights groups and international observers have criticized these actions as undermining Tunisia's democratic progress since the 2011 Arab Spring, while Saied defends his measures as necessary to restore order and combat corruption. The trials and sentences are seen as part of Saied’s effort to consolidate power and neutralize dissent amid accusations of authoritarianism.