TUNIS: A Tunis court has sentenced exiled former president Moncef Marzouki in absentia to 22 years in prison for offenses related to “terrorism,” Tunisian media reported on Saturday.
Four other defendants, including his former adviser Imed Daimi and former head of the national bar association Abderrazak Kilani, were also handed the same sentence late Friday.
A staunch critic of President Kais Saied who has been living in France, Marzouki had already been sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison in two separate cases, one involving “provoking disorder.”
The latest ruling came after a press conference held in Paris, during which he, along with Daimi and Kilani, sharply criticized state institutions and members of the Tunisian judiciary, reports said.
Marzouki, who served as Tunisia’s third president from 2011 to 2014, said in a statement the ruling was “surreal.”
He said it came as part of a “series of verdicts that have targeted some of Tunisia’s finest men and continue to provoke the world’s mockery.”
Tunisia emerged as the Arab world’s only democracy following the ousting of longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, after it kicked off the Arab Spring uprisings.
But since a sweeping power grab by Saied in July 2021 when he dissolved parliament and began ruling by decree, rights groups have warned of a sharp decline in Tunisian civil liberties.
In April, a mass trial saw around 40 public figures, mainly critics of the authorities, sentenced to long terms on charges including plotting against the state.
Other media figures and lawyers also critical of Saied have been prosecuted and detained under a law he enacted in 2022 to prohibit “spreading false news.”
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Exiled former Tunisia leader sentenced to 22 years: reports
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Exiled former Tunisia leader sentenced to 22 years: reports
UN chief slams ‘unlawful attacks’, says Mideast could spiral out of control
- Antonio Guterres calls for serious diplomatic negotiations
- UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher describes deadly alliance of 'technology and killing with impunity'
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Friday “unlawful attacks” across the Middle East and warned that the situation could spiral out of control as the conflict spreads to multiple countries.
US and Israeli forces launched a massive air campaign against Iran on February 28. Iran has retaliated with strikes against Israel and Gulf countries.
Washington said it aimed to curb nuclear and missile threats from Tehran but it has also decapitated the country’s government, and President Donald Trump is now demanding “unconditional surrender.”
“All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region — and pose a grave risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people,” Guterres said.
“The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control. It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations.”
The UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Friday that “we’re seeing staggering amounts of money, reportedly a billion dollars a day, funding this war spent on destruction, while politicians continue to boast about cutting aid budgets for those in greatest need.”
“We’re seeing an increasingly deadly alliance of technology and killing with impunity,” he added.
Fletcher said “we’re seeing a sustained attack against the systems and laws meant to restrain us from our worst instincts and from reckless warfare.”
He also reflected mounting concern about the war’s other impacts, warning that “it tears through markets, supply chains, food prices, and when that happens, it’s the most vulnerable people who are hit first and hardest.”
US and Israeli forces launched a massive air campaign against Iran on February 28. Iran has retaliated with strikes against Israel and Gulf countries.
Washington said it aimed to curb nuclear and missile threats from Tehran but it has also decapitated the country’s government, and President Donald Trump is now demanding “unconditional surrender.”
“All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region — and pose a grave risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people,” Guterres said.
“The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control. It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations.”
The UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Friday that “we’re seeing staggering amounts of money, reportedly a billion dollars a day, funding this war spent on destruction, while politicians continue to boast about cutting aid budgets for those in greatest need.”
“We’re seeing an increasingly deadly alliance of technology and killing with impunity,” he added.
Fletcher said “we’re seeing a sustained attack against the systems and laws meant to restrain us from our worst instincts and from reckless warfare.”
He also reflected mounting concern about the war’s other impacts, warning that “it tears through markets, supply chains, food prices, and when that happens, it’s the most vulnerable people who are hit first and hardest.”
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