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Tunisian court sentences opposition figure Moussi to 12 years in prison

AL-Monitor
Dec 12, 2025
President of Tunisia's Free Destourian Party Abir Moussi speaks to the media during a protest demanding the dissolution of parliament and asking for early legislative elections, in Tunis, Tunisia November 20, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
President of Tunisia's Free Destourian Party Abir Moussi speaks to the media during a protest demanding the dissolution of parliament and asking for early legislative elections, in Tunis, Tunisia November 20, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi — ZOUBEIR SOUISSI

TUNIS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A ​Tunisian court on ​Friday sentenced prominent ⁠opposition figure Abir Moussi to 12 years in prison, ​her lawyer told ‍Reuters, in what ​rights groups say is a new step towards entrenching President ⁠Kais Saied's one-man rule and using the judiciary to crush his critics.

"The ruling is unjust and is not a ​judicial decision ⁠but a ⁠politically motivated order," Moussi's lawyer Nafaa Laribi told Reuters.

Moussi, leader of the Free ‌Constitutional Party, has ​been imprisoned since 2023 after police arrested her at the presidential ‍palace entrance on suspicion of assault intended to ‌cause chaos, in ‌what critics say was part of a crackdown on opposition politicians.

(Reporting By ⁠Tarek Amara; Editing by Hugh Lawson)