A Tunisian court has sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki to 22 years in prison in absentia on charges of undermining state security,triggering condemnation from rights groups who denounce the use of the judiciary by President Kais Saied to intimidate and silence the opposition at home and abroad.
The verdict,delivered in June 2025,adds to two previous convictions,bringing Marzouki’s total sentences to 34 years,a punishment he and his supporters call politically motivated.
Just days later,another high-profile opposition figure,Sahbi Atig,a senior leader in the Ennahda party,was sentenced to 15 years in prison on money laundering charges. Atig,who had already received a separate 13-year sentence in a different case,has denied all allegations,calling them fabricated and part of a broader campaign to eliminate political dissent.
The back-to-back rulings have drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations,who accuse President Kais Saied of weaponizing the judiciary to crush opposition voices and dismantle Tunisia’s democratic institutions.
Kais Saied has been fostering his power grab since 2021,when he suspended parliament,rewrote the constitution,and assumed sweeping executive powers. Since then,Tunisia has seen a dramatic erosion of civil liberties.
United News - unews.co.za