TUNIS, Tunisia (June 20) — A Tunisian court has sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki to 22 years in prison in absentia for allegedly undermining state security, further intensifying concerns over a widening crackdown on political dissent.
Marzouki, who served as Tunisia’s president from 2011 to 2014, has been an outspoken critic of current President Kais Saied, accusing him of steering the country toward authoritarian rule after Saied dissolved parliament and began governing by decree in 2021.
This marks the third conviction for Marzouki. Courts have previously sentenced him to eight years and four years in other political cases.
Speaking from exile in Paris, Marzouki dismissed the latest ruling.
“I say to these judges: your rulings are invalid, and you are invalid … you will be tried soon,” he said defiantly. “Democracy will return.”
The verdict comes amid a broader government crackdown on critics and political opposition. Earlier on Friday, a separate Tunisian court sentenced Sahbi Atig, a senior figure in the opposition Ennahda party, to 15 years in prison for money laundering, according to his lawyer.
These rulings follow a wave of severe sentences handed down in April, when courts convicted multiple opposition figures, business leaders, and lawyers of conspiracy, with terms reaching up to 66 years.
Currently, most major opposition leaders in Tunisia are behind bars, including Abir Moussi, head of the Free Constitutional Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, the longtime leader of Ennahda and one of Saied’s most vocal opponents.
President Kais Saied has denied authoritarianism, claiming his consolidation of power is necessary to restore stability amid Tunisia’s ongoing economic and political challenges.
