The Tunis Primary Court sentenced Rashid Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahda Movement, to three years in prison with immediate enforcement on charges of terrorism and financial corruption. The specialized financial corruption chamber of the Primary Court also sentenced Ghannouchi’s son-in-law, Rafik Abdessalem Bouchlaka, to the same term, as reported by Tunis Afrique Presse.
Additionally, the Ennahda Movement was fined an amount equivalent to the foreign funding it received, totaling 1,170,470 US dollars, related to a case involving the acceptance of foreign donations for an electoral campaign.
In March 2022, the party was accused of receiving foreign funding for an electoral campaign and accepting anonymous direct funding. Ghannouchi was arrested in April following investigations into several cases, including the alleged secret apparatus of the Ennahda Movement, glorification of terrorism, facilitating the travel of terrorists to Syria, and money laundering.
In October, the Tunisian judiciary tightened an appellate sentence against Ghannouchi, increasing his prison term from 12 to 15 months with a fine in a case related to glorifying terrorism. The case arose from a complaint by a security union accusing Ghannouchi of inciting Tunisians to fight each other, referencing his comments at a funeral early in 2022 where he stated the deceased was not afraid of rulers or tyrants.
Rached Ghannouchi, a prominent Tunisian opposition leader and head of the Ennahda political party, has faced a series of legal challenges and sentences in recent times. In a recent ruling, a Tunisian court sentenced Ghannouchi and former Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem, who is also Ghannouchi’s son-in-law, to three years in prison. The charges were related to the illegal funding of their political party, Ennahda, specifically concerning funds received from foreign lobbying companies for the 2019 election campaigns. This sentencing comes amidst Ghannouchi’s ongoing 15-month prison term for a separate case, which accused him of inciting against state security and calling police officers “tyrants”. Abdessalem received his sentence in absentia as he is currently outside the country.
Additionally, Ghannouchi had previously been sentenced to a year in prison for charges of incitement. His arrest in April and the subsequent sentence reflect the broader crackdown on opposition figures in Tunisia, particularly those affiliated with the Ennahda Party. President Kais Saied’s actions, including the suspension of the parliament in July 2021 and significant changes to the political system, have been viewed by many as a move towards consolidating power and an encroachment on democratic freedoms. Critics argue that these actions represent a step back towards autocracy for Tunisia, a country that was once hailed as a beacon of democracy in the Arab world following the Arab Spring.