Tunisia court sentences top Nahda figure to up to 10 years in prison

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
19 Oct 2024 13:50

Noureddine Bhiri, who has accused Tunisia's president of governing by a coup, has been detained for 18 months.

Listen

Opposition member Noureddine Bhiri in an undated photo (Social Media)

Noureddine Bhiri, an official in the Ennahda opposition party, was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison by a Tunisian court on charges of attacking state security and trying to incite inter-community violence, according to Reuters.

Monia Bouali, Bhiri's lawyer, told Reuters that the trial "was marred by many legal violations due to a Facebook post attributed to him that technical tests proved did not exist at all."

Bhiri has been detained for 18 months, along with many other opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saeid. The opposition has claimed his tenure and ruling came about by a "coup".

Last week, Saied was re-elected for a second term. The Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia announced that the final results confirmed his victory.

During a press conference to announce the final results, Farouk Bouasker, head of the Independent High Authority for Elections in Tunisia, congratulated President Saied on his win, noting that he received 90.69% of the votes.

Bouasker highlighted that voter turnout reached 2,704,155 voters, representing 27.7%, which is the lowest since the 2010 revolution.

He stated that "the commission did not receive any appeals against the preliminary results of the presidential elections held on October 6th," adding that "the elections marked a historic event, and the process went smoothly."