The Tunisian judiciary sentenced opposition leader Abir Moussi to 12 years in prison in a case tied to an alleged 2023 incident at the presidential palace. Her lawyer and party called the ruling 'unjust' and politically motivated; Moussi has been detained since October 3, 2023. Previously convicted under Decree 54, she faces multiple sentences and pending appeals. Rights groups accuse President Kais Saied of undermining judicial independence after sweeping changes in 2021–2022; Saied denies these claims.
Tunisia Jails Opposition Leader Abir Moussi for 12 Years Amid Widening Crackdown
Supporters of Abir Moussi, the president of the Free Destourian Party, demand her release during a demonstration organised in Tunis in October 2023 [File: Fethi Belaid/AFP]
A Tunisian court on Friday sentenced opposition leader Abir Moussi to 12 years in prison as part of a broader crackdown on critics of President Kais Saied. The ruling relates to an incident in 2023 at the presidential palace and comes amid a series of prosecutions of journalists, activists and political opponents.
Verdict and Reaction
Moussi's lawyer, Nafaa Laribi, described the verdict as 'unjust' and said it was 'not a judicial decision but a politically motivated order.' In a statement issued before the verdict, the Free Destourian Party (also known as the Free Constitutional Party) said Moussi has been 'arbitrarily detained since October 3, 2023.'
Nafaa Laribi: 'The ruling is unjust and politically motivated.'
Who Is Abir Moussi?
Abir Moussi has led the Free Destourian Party since 2016. She was a supporter of the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted in the 2011 uprising that helped spark the Arab Spring. Moussi and her party have organised protests against President Saied and his post-2019 consolidation of power.
Legal Context
Moussi was arrested in 2023 at the entrance to the presidential palace on suspicion of assault intended to cause chaos; Friday's sentence is connected to that incident. Previously, she was sentenced under Decree 54—a 2022 law introduced by Saied to combat 'false news'—to two years in prison, a sentence that was later reduced on appeal. After completing her first jail term in June, she was handed another two-year sentence under the same decree; that appeal remains pending.
Wider Political Fallout
Rights groups and opposition figures accuse President Saied of eroding judicial independence since he suspended the elected parliament in 2021 and began ruling largely by decree. In 2022 Saied dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges, moves critics called tantamount to a coup. Saied denies that he is using the judiciary to persecute opponents and says his measures are needed to restore order and purge 'traitors' from public life.
International and domestic observers remain concerned about a series of mass trials and heavy sentences handed down to dozens of opposition figures on charges including conspiracy against state security, and about the use of Decree 54 to criminalise dissent.
