A Tunisian court has issued a verdict in absentia sentencing former President Moncef Marzouki to four years in prison after he criticized President Kais Saied and called for protests.
The court found Marzouki guilty on charges of assaulting the external
security of the state.
Marzouki, who lives in Paris, has described Saied’s seizure of power in
July as a coup, and called for protests against him and urged that a major
international meeting of French-speaking countries be moved from
Tunisia.
Saied has ‘rejected accusations’ that his seizure of powers, suspension of
parliament and plans to change the constitution are a coup.
He said he acted to end protracted ‘political paralysis’ and that a
referendum will be held next year on a new constitution followed by
parliamentary elections.
After Tunisia’s 2011 revolution that introduced democracy, an elected
assembly appointed Marzouki as the interim president, overseeing the
transition to a new constitution in 2014.
