Latest news with #Ennahda
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tunisian court hands 15‑year sentence to opposition figure Sahbi Atig
TUNIS (Reuters) -A Tunisian court has sentenced Sahbi Atig, a senior official in Ennahda, the country's main opposition party, to 15 years in prison on charges of money laundering, his lawyer said on Friday, the latest move against opposition figures under President Kais Saied. Atig was detained in 2023, one of many opponents of Saied who have been imprisoned since the president began expanding his powers in 2021, dissolving parliament and ruling by decree in what critics have denounced as a coup. Saied has said that all his steps are legal and aimed at ending years of rampant corruption and holding accountable what he calls a corrupt elite. Atig denied the charges against him, saying they were fabricated. "The verdict aims to eliminate political opponents and lacks any credible evidence,' Atig's lawyer, Mokthar Jmaayi, told Reuters. "It is a continuation of the punishment of opponents by using the judiciary and distracting people from their real problems,' he added. The 15-year sentence was shorter than some sentences handed down recently. In April, a court sentenced a string of opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers to prison terms of up to 66 years, on charges of conspiring. Saied has dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges in 2022, raising concerns about judicial independence. The president has said he does not interfere in the judiciary and that his actions aim to purge the judiciary of corrupt judges. Most of the leaders of political parties in Tunisia are in prison, including Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda - two of Saied's most prominent opponents.
Straits Times
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Tunisian court hands 15‑year sentence to opposition figure Sahbi Atig
FILE PHOTO: A Tunisian flag flutters outside the building of Ennahda party in Tunis, Tunisia April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui/File Photo TUNIS - A Tunisian court has sentenced Sahbi Atig, a senior official in Ennahda, the country's main opposition party, to 15 years in prison on charges of money laundering, his lawyer said on Friday, the latest move against opposition figures under President Kais Saied. Atig was detained in 2023, one of many opponents of Saied who have been imprisoned since the president began expanding his powers in 2021, dissolving parliament and ruling by decree in what critics have denounced as a coup. Saied has said that all his steps are legal and aimed at ending years of rampant corruption and holding accountable what he calls a corrupt elite. Atig denied the charges against him, saying they were fabricated. "The verdict aims to eliminate political opponents and lacks any credible evidence,' Atig's lawyer, Mokthar Jmaayi, told Reuters. "It is a continuation of the punishment of opponents by using the judiciary and distracting people from their real problems,' he added. The 15-year sentence was shorter than some sentences handed down recently. In April, a court sentenced a string of opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers to prison terms of up to 66 years, on charges of conspiring. Saied has dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges in 2022, raising concerns about judicial independence. The president has said he does not interfere in the judiciary and that his actions aim to purge the judiciary of corrupt judges. Most of the leaders of political parties in Tunisia are in prison, including Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda - two of Saied's most prominent opponents. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Tunisian court hands 15‑year sentence to opposition figure Sahbi Atig
TUNIS, June 20 (Reuters) - A Tunisian court has sentenced Sahbi Atig, a senior official in Ennahda, the country's main opposition party, to 15 years in prison on charges of money laundering, his lawyer said on Friday, the latest move against opposition figures under President Kais Saied. Atig was detained in 2023, one of many opponents of Saied who have been imprisoned since the president began expanding his powers in 2021, dissolving parliament and ruling by decree in what critics have denounced as a coup. Saied has said that all his steps are legal and aimed at ending years of rampant corruption and holding accountable what he calls a corrupt elite. Atig denied the charges against him, saying they were fabricated. "The verdict aims to eliminate political opponents and lacks any credible evidence,' Atig's lawyer, Mokthar Jmaayi, told Reuters. "It is a continuation of the punishment of opponents by using the judiciary and distracting people from their real problems,' he added. The 15-year sentence was shorter than some sentences handed down recently. In April, a court sentenced a string of opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers to prison terms of up to 66 years, on charges of conspiring. Saied has dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges in 2022, raising concerns about judicial independence. The president has said he does not interfere in the judiciary and that his actions aim to purge the judiciary of corrupt judges. Most of the leaders of political parties in Tunisia are in prison, including Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda - two of Saied's most prominent opponents.
TimesLIVE
05-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Former Tunisian PM Larayedh jailed for 34 years over Syria jihadist case
A Tunisian court on Friday handed down a 34-year prison sentence against former prime minister Ali Larayedh, a senior figure in the opposition Ennahda party, on charges of facilitating the departure of jihadists to Syria over the past decade, his lawyer told Reuters. Larayedh, who served as prime minister from 2013 to 2014, is a senior figure in Ennahda, an Islamist party that has been a main opponent of President Kais Saied. The ruling comes a week after the detention of prominent lawyer Ahmed Souab, a fierce critic of Saied, alongside other prison sentences against opposition leaders, businessmen, and media figures on charges of conspiracy. TAP state news agency quoted a judicial official as saying that the sentences apply to eight people and are for 18 to 36 years. Human rights groups have described last week sentences and detention of Souab as a dangerous escalation of the crackdown against opposition. The government denied accusations and said that the judiciary is independent.
The National
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Former Tunisian PM Larayedh jailed for 34 years on terrorism charges
Former Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh was sentenced to 34 years in prison on Friday, convicted of abetting the departure of extremist fighters to Syria for the past decade, his lawyer told Reuters. The senior figure in the opposition Ennahda party has strongly denied the accusation, saying it was 'politically motivated'. The Tunisian state news agency said that a judicial official has handed down sentences of between 18 to 36 years, and that they apply to eight officials. The court did not name those convicted alongside Mr Larayedh. 'I was neither sympathetic, nor complicit, nor neutral, nor lenient towards violence, terrorism,' Mr Larayedh told the judge on Friday, rejecting what he and his Ennahda party have called a politically motivated prosecution. The former PM, 69, took office between 2013 to 2014, and was leader of the Islamist party Ennahda, which briefly governed Tunisia following a popular uprising in 2011 that sparked the Arab Spring. He is a critic of current Tunisian President Kais Saied. Mr Larayedh has been in detention since 2022. 'I am not a criminal … I am a victim in this case,' he wrote in a letter addressed to the Tunis prosecutor's office on April 18. Ennahda denies the charges linked to terrorism, and claims this case is part of a crackdown on dissent following Mr Saied's seizure of broad powers in 2021, when he dissolved parliament and began ruling by decree. The sentences is the latest in a series of prosecutions against people critical of Mr Saied. Last week, lawyer Ahmed Souab, a critic of Mr Saied, was detained alongside other opposition leaders, businessmen, and media figures on charges of conspiracy. Human rights groups have described last week sentences and detention of Mr Souab as a dangerous escalation of the repression of the opposition. The government rejects claims of political interference, and maintains that Tunisia's judiciary is independent. The UN said about 5,500 Tunisians fought with extremist groups including ISIS in Iraq, Syria and Libya between 2011 and 2016.
