A Tunisian court on Wednesday issued a verdict in absentia sentencing former president Moncef Marzouki to four years in prison after he criticised President Kais Saied and called for further protests against his efforts to cement his rule. The court found against Marzouki on charges of "assaulting the external security of the state", according to the state news agency TAP. Marzouki, who lives in Paris, has described Saied's seizure of powers in July as a coup, 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 in July and plans to change the constitution are a coup. 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.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 23, 2021 20:13 UTC