Tunisian opposition leader, Abir Moussi, handed 12-year jail term

A court in Tunisia has sentenced prominent opposition leader, Abir Moussi, to 12 years in prison amid a sweeping crackdown on critics of President Kais Saied.

The leader of the Free Constitutional Party has been in custody since her 2023 arrest outside the presidential palace on suspicion of assault intended to cause chaos.

She rejected the charges saying she was simply exercising her right to criticise and vowed to continue resisting what she called "abuse, torture, and political and moral violence".

It is the third trial against the politician.

She was sentenced in August last year to what was initially two years in prison under Decree 54 enacted by Saied in 2022 to combat “false news”. That sentence was later reduced on appeal.

An appeals process is currently underway for a second jail term under the same law.

Her lawyer described the latest ruling as “unjust” and said it was “not a judicial decision but a politically motivated order”.

Moussi is one of dozens of prominent politicians currently behind bars amid Saied’s escalating crackdown on journalists, activists, civil society groups, and opposition leaders.

Last month an appeals court handed jail terms of up to 45 years to dozens of opposition leaders, business figures, and lawyers on charges of conspiracy to overthrow him.

Rights groups and opponents says Saied has destroyed the independence of the judiciary since he shut down the elected parliament in 2021 and moving to rule by decree.

The president denies having become a dictator or using the judiciary against opponents, saying he is cleansing Tunisia of “traitors”.