Top politicians, officials given lengthy jail terms

A Tunisian court has handed jail terms to 21 high-profile politicians and former top officials, including opposition leader and ex-Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, reports Al Jazeera which quotes the Tunis Afrique Press (TAP) news agency. The rulings on Tuesday are the latest move in President Kais Saied’s widening crackdown on critics and political opponents. Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahdha party who has been in jail since 2023, was sentenced to up to 14 years in jail. Several others, including former Prime Minister Youssef Chahed and ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Rafik Abdessalem Bouchlaka, were sentenced in absentia to 35 years. Nadia Akacha, Saied’s former chief of staff, who was considered a close and influential aide to the President, was also handed a 35-year prison sentence in absentia, according to the TAP. The charges against the defendants cover a wide range of alleged offences, including forming and joining a ‘terrorist’ organisation and conspiring against internal state security. On Tuesday, Bouchlaka, the former Foreign Minister, dismissed the sentences as unserious, saying that the Tunisian Government has become a ‘mockery in front of the world with its immaturity, recklessness and craziness’.

Full Al Jazeera report