On May 2 (local time), Al Jazeera and other outlets reported that a former prime minister in Tunisia, North Africa, was sentenced to 34 years in prison on charges of terrorism.
The criminal court in the capital Tunis sentenced former Prime Minister Ali Larayed to 34 years in prison on charges of aiding the dispatch of jihadist fighters to Iraq and Syria. Larayed is one of the leaders of the opposition Ennahda party, which is critical of President Kais Saied.
Larayed denied all charges, stating that he neither supported nor conspired in violence or terrorism, and claimed the charges were politically motivated and targeted at himself and the Ennahda party.
This sentencing came just two weeks after 40 individuals, including opposition leaders, businesspeople, and lawyers, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 13 to 66 years on charges including conspiring against national security.
Since February 2023, authorities in Tunisia have continued to crack down on critics of the president, with police repeatedly detaining opposition figures on the grounds of harming national security.
President Saied, a former constitutional law professor, has been criticized for returning Tunisia?the birthplace of the Arab Spring?to authoritarian rule. President Saied was re-elected last year with a voter turnout of 28.8%.
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