Tunisia’s Ennahda denounces political trial of its leader Ghannouchi

Tunisia’s Ennahda moderate Islamist party denounced the additional 22-year sentence against its leader Rached Ghannouchi and former Prime Minister as a “political trial” and “a blatant assault on the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and a blatant politicization of its procedures and rulings.”

Former speaker of the parliament Ghannouchi was sentenced on the charge of conspiring against the state, against the backdrop of degradation of freedoms in the country under President Kais Saied, who destroyed Tunisia’s hard-won checks and balances bringing the Judiciary under his firm grip.

Ghannouchi, 83, has been in prison since 2023, receiving two sentences of a total of five years in separate cases.

Ennahdha, in a statement, said the proceedings were marred by “innumerable violations” and the case against Ghannouchi was “nothing more than a political trial.

Ghannouchi and similar cases against political opponents drew criticism from rights groups warning of Saied’s authoritarianism, which highlights the lack of transparency in the judicial process and the targeting of journalists, politicians, and activists.

The National Authority for the Prevention of Torture said the number of prison inmates grew at an “alarming” rate to more than 32,000, compared with about 22,000 from 2018 to 2021.