Tunisia Sentences Ex-President Marzouki to 22 Years in Absentia
A Tunisian court has sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki to 22 years in prison in absentia, marking the latest development in the North African country's ongoing political crackdown. The charges against Marzouki relate to alleged efforts to undermine state security. Once a central figure during Tunisia’s post-Arab Spring democratic transition, Marzouki has been living in exile in France and remains an outspoken critic of current President Kais Saied’s increasingly authoritarian governance. He denounced the verdict as illegitimate, insisting that the fight for democracy in Tunisia is far from over.
This new sentence adds to a string of previous convictions against Marzouki, including a four-year sentence in 2021 and an eight-year sentence in 2024, both handed down in absentia. The former president has consistently criticized what he calls President Saied’s dismantling of Tunisia’s democratic institutions, which began in 2021 when Saied dissolved parliament, seized executive powers, and rewrote the constitution. Human rights groups and international observers have voiced alarm over these developments, warning of an alarming rollback of democratic gains achieved after the 2011 revolution.
Marzouki’s sentencing is part of a broader government campaign targeting opposition leaders, journalists, and civil society actors. The same court recently sentenced other prominent figures such as Sahbi Atig of the Ennahda party to 15 years on financial charges. Critics argue that these legal actions are politically motivated, aimed at silencing dissent and tightening President Saied’s grip on power. As Tunisia’s democracy continues to falter, many now fear that the country could be returning to the kind of authoritarian rule it fought hard to escape just over a decade ago.
Source: BBC.com
