TUNIS: A Tunisian court has sentenced opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi to 20 years in jail for “plotting against the state,” his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday, increasing the sentence by six years.
The charge is one of several for which Ghannouchi has already been in prison since 2023, with the 84-year-old now facing a total of more than 40 years behind bars.
Twenty-two people stood trial alongside Ghannouchi last year accused of offenses that include “plotting against state security,” which Ghannouchi’s defense team called “fabricated” and politically motivated.
An appeals court has upped the sentence from 14 years to 20, Ghannouchi’s lawyer Samir Dilou told AFP on Tuesday.
Ghannouchi leads Tunisia’s Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party and has been a staunch critic of President Kais Saied.
