Tunisian president Kais Saied continues to crack down on the opposition and has been active in imprisoning anyone opposing his views. Detained since April 2023, veteran opposition figure Rached Ghannouchi, and head of Tunisia’s Ennahda party, was given last week a 22-year prison sentence. Dozens of other individuals in the Ghannouchi orbit were also handed over prison terms ranging from five to 35 years. During the last hearing, Ghannouchi refused to appear in court.
The verdicts of the trial in the so-called “Instalingo case” was announced on February 5, 2025, with the suspects found guilty of conspiring against the state. Soumaya Ghannouchi, Rached Ghannouchi’s daughter, was sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison. Hichem Mechichi, former prime minister and Rafik Abdessalem, former foreign minister and Ghannouchi’s son-in-law, received the steepest sentences in absentia of 35 years and 34 years, respectively.
The case originated in 2021 with an investigation into Instalingo, a digital media company whose executives were accused of plotting against the government. Ghannouchi was already convicted in separate cases related to alleged “illegal party financing” and “advocating terrorism.” His lawyers criticized the ruling, citing the “absence of judicial independence.”
Other personalities who were sentenced to prison include journalist Chahrazed Akacha, sentenced to 27 years, journalist Chadha Had Mbarek to 5 years, former interior minister Mohamed Ali Aroui, to 13 years in prison and Ennahda leader, Seyed Ferjani, who was also sentenced to 13 years.
