Tunisian authorities must release prominent opposition politician Rached Ghannouchi, quash his convictions and end the politically motivated prosecutions against him marred by significant due process violations, Amnesty International said today. The organization is also urgently calling for him to receive access to adequate healthcare pending his release.
The 84-year-old leader of the Ennahdha party and former Speaker of Parliament has been held in arbitrary detention since his arrest in April 2023 and has been subjected to numerous politically motivated prosecutions. Authorities have initiated at least 12 separate criminal cases against Rached Ghannouchi, resulting in multiple convictions and cumulative prison sentences of 107 years, in addition to a life sentence handed down on 1 June 2026 in the “Secret Apparatus” case.
“The latest judgment against Rached Ghannouchi represents the first life sentence imposed on a major political leader since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution and marks a significant escalation in the authorities’ misuse of the criminal justice system against opposition figures,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
