International Committee for Solidarity with Rached Ghannouchi decries ‘repressive campaign’ against Ennahdha party leader.Marking the second anniversary of the arrest of Tunisia’s prominent opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi, an international committee formed last year to raise awareness about his imprisonment says he is being held “unjustly” and on “trumped-up charges”.
The International Committee for Solidarity with Rached Ghannouchi called for the immediate release of the imprisoned Ennahdha party leader and former speaker of Tunisia’s parliament.
In a statement on Thursday, it said that more than 15 cases have been brought against Ghannouchi, and “several unjust convictions and sentences” have been issued.
The most recent of these was a 22-year prison sentence issued in February on charges that included plotting against state security – a case “to which he has no connection”, the committee said.
Earlier this year, Ghannouchi was also sentenced to three years for accusations that his party received foreign contributions.
The 83-year-old, who has been the main rival of Tunisian President Kais Saied, was arrested in April 2023 and sentenced to one year in prison on charges of incitement. Advertisement
He has been a vocal critic of Saied, and became the highest-profile figure to be arrested in the continuing consolidation of power by the president who was elected in 2019 and has overseen a wave of repression and legal reforms that have expanded his rule.
“These unjust trials and sentences take place within the context of a widespread repressive campaign led by Kais Saied’s regime, which is targeting opposition voices from all backgrounds, repressing organised action in all its forms, controlling the media and civil so …