Latest news with #MoncefMarzouki
Jordan News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Jordan News
Tunisia Sentences Former President Moncef Marzouki to 22 Years in Prison in Absentia - Jordan News
Tunisia Sentences Former President Moncef Marzouki to 22 Years in Prison in Absentia A Tunisian court has sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki, former presidential chief of staff Imed Daïmi, and former head of the Bar Association Abderrazak Kilani to 22 years in prison in absentia, according to a ruling issued by the Tunis First Instance Court. اضافة اعلان Tunisian radio Mosaique FM reported on Friday evening that the Criminal Chamber for Terrorism Cases at the court handed down the sentence with immediate enforcement, also applying the same sentence to two unnamed additional defendants. The Court of Appeals' specialized terrorism division reportedly classified all the accused as fugitives. In response to the ruling, Marzouki issued a statement Friday evening saying, 'Judges have today sentenced me to 22 years in prison, adding to a previous 8-year sentence and another of 4 years.' He added, 'These rulings have targeted some of Tunisia's most honorable figures and continue to provoke international ridicule.' Marzouki affirmed, 'Rest assured, democracy will return, and Tunisia will resume building a state based on law and institutions. The people will rise to free themselves from fear, humiliation, and further descent into poverty.' As of 8:30 GMT, there had been no official response from the Tunisian government regarding the sentence. Back in May 2024, Hanène Kaddas, spokesperson for the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Division, told the official Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) agency that a judicial inquiry had been launched against Marzouki and others involved in a press conference held abroad (reportedly in France, though the date was not specified). Kaddas accused Marzouki of 'attacking state institutions, defaming several judges, and attributing false statements that damage their reputations.' Tunisian President Kais Saied has maintained that the judiciary operates independently and that he does not interfere in its affairs. However, the opposition accuses him of weaponizing the judiciary to prosecute critics of the exceptional measures he began implementing on July 25, 2021, which included freezing parliament, lifting immunity from MPs, abolishing the Constitutional Oversight Body, and issuing laws via presidential decrees. Major political and civil groups in Tunisia have rejected these exceptional measures, calling them 'authoritarian and a consolidation of one-man rule.' Meanwhile, other factions support them, viewing them as reflecting the will of the Tunisian people. — (Anadolu Agency)
Al Arabiya
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Tunisia sentences ex-President Marzouki to 22 years in absentia
A Tunisian court on Friday handed down a 22-year prison sentence in absentia to former President Moncef Marzouki, a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, on charges of undermining state security, raising the opposition's fears of an escalating crackdown against critics. Marzouki, who was president from 2011 to 2014, accuses Saied of establishing an authoritarian regime after dismissing parliament and ruling by decree since he seized almost all powers in 2011. Saied defends his actions as necessary steps to stabilize Tunisia. This is the third ruling against Marzouki, after a court ruled last year to imprison him for eight years and four years before that in various other cases. Commenting on the ruling, Marzouki said from his exile in Paris: 'I say to these judges: your rulings are invalid, and you are invalid ... you will be tried soon.' 'Democracy will return,' he added. Earlier on Friday, another court 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. 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 conspiracy charges. 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.
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Exiled former Tunisia leader sentenced to 22 years: reports
TUNIS: A Tunis court has sentenced exiled former president Moncef Marzouki in absentia to 22 years in prison for offenses related to 'terrorism,' Tunisian media reported on Saturday. Four other defendants, including his former adviser Imed Daimi and former head of the national bar association Abderrazak Kilani, were also handed the same sentence late Friday. A staunch critic of President Kais Saied who has been living in France, Marzouki had already been sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison in two separate cases, one involving 'provoking disorder.' The latest ruling came after a press conference held in Paris, during which he, along with Daimi and Kilani, sharply criticized state institutions and members of the Tunisian judiciary, reports said. Marzouki, who served as Tunisia's third president from 2011 to 2014, said in a statement the ruling was 'surreal.' He said it came as part of a 'series of verdicts that have targeted some of Tunisia's finest men and continue to provoke the world's mockery.' Tunisia emerged as the Arab world's only democracy following the ousting of longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, after it kicked off the Arab Spring uprisings. But since a sweeping power grab by Saied in July 2021 when he dissolved parliament and began ruling by decree, rights groups have warned of a sharp decline in Tunisian civil liberties. In April, a mass trial saw around 40 public figures, mainly critics of the authorities, sentenced to long terms on charges including plotting against the state. Other media figures and lawyers also critical of Saied have been prosecuted and detained under a law he enacted in 2022 to prohibit 'spreading false news.'
Reuters
a day ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Tunisia sentences ex-President Marzouki to 22 years in absentia
TUNIS, June 20 (Reuters) - A Tunisian court on Friday handed down a 22‑year prison sentence in absentia to former President Moncef Marzouki, a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, on charges of undermining state security, raising the opposition's fears of an escalating crackdown against critics. Marzouki, who was president from 2011 to 2014, accuses Saied of establishing an authoritarian regime after dismissing parliament and ruling by decree since he seized almost all powers in 2011. Saied defends his actions as necessary steps to stabilise Tunisia. This is the third ruling against Marzouki, after a court ruled last year to imprison him for eight years and four years before that in various other cases. Commenting on the ruling, Marzouki said from his exile in Paris: "I say to these judges: your rulings are invalid, and you are invalid ... you will be tried soon". "Democracy will return", he added. Earlier on Friday, another court 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. 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 conspiracy charges. 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.
