Rached Ghannouchi, the jailed leader of the Tunisian opposition party Ennahdha, was sentenced Thursday to a new three-year prison term for the illegal financing of his party, his lawyer said.
A rival of Tunisia’s President Kais Saied, Ghannouchi — who was already serving a 15-month prison sentence for terrorism-related charges — was sentenced this time for receiving “foreign financing” for the Islamist party, his lawyer Sami Triki told AFP.
His son-in-law Rafik Abdessalam, a former foreign minister, was tried in absentia in the same case and was also sentenced to three years in prison.
In addition to the prison sentences for Ghannouchi and his son-in-law, Ennahdha was ordered to pay a fine of $1.17 million.
Ghannouchi, 82, was arrested in April 2023 for inciting violence and plotting against state security, after he said that eradicating differing political viewpoints from left-wing or Islamist parties might lead to a “civil war.”
He was convicted of terrorism-related charges in May and sentenced to 12 months in jail, which was then lengthened to 15 months on appeal in October.
His conviction followed a complaint from a police union over comments he had made in early 2022 during the funeral of an Ennahdha official.
He had said the official “did not fear the powerful nor tyrants”, a comment which prosecutors said disparaged police officers.
Ghannouchi, whose party dominated Tunisia following the 2011 revolt that toppled the dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, is the most well-known opposition figure imprisoned since President Kais Saied’s power-grab in July 2021.
Rights groups have since reported a crackdown on opposition figures, including politicians and businessmen.