Tunisia court sentences lawyer critical of president to two years in prison

Sonia Dhamani, a fierce professional of President Kais Saied, has criticised him for practices against refugees and migrants.

A Tunisian tribunal has sentenced Sonia Dhamani, a salient lawyer and renowned professional of President Kais Saied, to 2 years successful jail, lawyers person said, successful a lawsuit that rights groups accidental marks a deepening crackdown connected dissent successful the North African country.

Dhamani’s lawyers withdrew from the proceedings aft the justice refused to adjourn the league connected Monday, claiming Dhamani was being tried doubly for the aforesaid act.

The tribunal sentenced Dhamani for statements criticising practices against refugees and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

Lawyer Bassem Trifi said the verdict was “a sedate injustice”.

“What’s happening is simply a farce. Sonia is being tried doubly for the aforesaid statement,” said lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi, different lawyer for Dhamani.

Dhamani was arrested past twelvemonth aft making comments during a tv quality that questioned the government’s stance connected undocumented African refugees and migrants successful Tunisia.

The lawsuit was brought nether the nation’s arguable cybercrime law, Decree 54, which has been wide condemned by planetary and section rights groups.

Most absorption leaders, immoderate journalists, and critics of Saied person been imprisoned since Saied seized power of astir powers, dissolved the elected parliament, and began ruling by decree successful 2021 – moves the absorption has described arsenic a coup.

Saied rejects the charges and says his actions are ineligible and aimed astatine ending years of chaos and rampant corruption.

Human rights groups and activists accidental Saied has turned Tunisia into an open-air situation and is utilizing the judiciary and constabulary to people his governmental opponents.

Saied rejects these accusations, saying helium volition not beryllium a dictator and seeks to clasp everyone accountable equally, careless of their presumption oregon name.

Earlier this year, the state carried retired a wide proceedings successful which dozens of defendants were handed jail presumption of up to 66 years. Critics denounced the proceedings arsenic politically motivated and baseless.

The defendants faced charges including “conspiracy against authorities security” and “belonging to a violent group”, according to their lawyers.

Among those targeted were figures from what was erstwhile the biggest party, Ennahda, specified arsenic the person and erstwhile Speaker of Parliament Rached Ghannouchi, erstwhile Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, and erstwhile Minister of Justice Noureddine Bhiri.

Tunisia had been celebrated arsenic possibly the lone antiauthoritarian occurrence of the 2011 “Arab Spring” revolutions, with beardown governmental engagement among its nationalist and civilian nine members, who often took to the airwaves and streets to marque their voices heard.

The years that followed the revolution, which overthrew long-time autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, saw the maturation of a steadfast governmental strategy with galore elections declared escaped and just by planetary observers.

But a anemic system and the strengthening of anti-democratic forces led to a pushback, capped disconnected by Saied’s dismissal of the authorities and dissolution of parliament.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies