TUNIS (Reuters) – Sonia Dahmani, a distinguished Tunisian lawyer recognized for her criticism of President Kais Saied, has been sentenced to 1 12 months in jail, her authorized consultant mentioned on Saturday.
The courtroom ruling reinforces opposition considerations that vital voices will proceed to be focused forward of a presidential election on Oct. 6
”The one-year prison sentence is unjust and confirms the targeting of free speech,” Dahmani’s lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi instructed Reuters.
Dahmani was arrested in Might after showing on a tv program during which she mentioned Tunisia is a rustic the place life shouldn’t be nice.
Opposition events, a lot of whose leaders are in jail, have accused Saied’s authorities of exerting strain on the judiciary to focus on his election rivals.
They are saying truthful and credible elections can’t be held except imprisoned politicians are launched and the media is allowed to function with out strain from the federal government.
Lotfi Mraihi, chief of the opposition Republican Union Get together, who has introduced his intention to run within the presidential election, was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of cash laundering.
Abir Moussi, the chief of the Free Constitutional Get together and a distinguished candidate, has been in jail since October 2023 on expenses of harming public safety.
Some potential candidates, together with Safi Saeed, Mondher Znaidi, Nizar Chaari and Abd Ellatif Mekki, are dealing with prosecution for alleged crimes similar to fraud and cash laundering.
Rached Ghannouchi, a fierce critic of Saied and head of the Ennahda fundamental opposition occasion, was jailed final 12 months on expenses of incitement towards police and plotting towards state safety.
Saied, a retired regulation professor who was elected president in 2019, has not formally introduced his candidacy to face for a second time period. Final 12 months he mentioned he won’t hand energy to what he known as non-patriots.
In 2021, Saied dissolved parliament and started ruling by decree in a transfer that the opposition described as a coup. Saied mentioned his steps have been authorized and vital to finish years of rampant corruption among the many political elite.
