Tunisia. Ghannouchi and 3 Ennahda leaders sentenced to 20 years in prison
A Tunisian court has sentenced Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi and three other leaders to 20 years in prison in what is known in the media as the "Ramadan smara", according to private radio station Mosaïque.
The Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Tunis sentenced Ghannouchi and leaders Youssef Nouri and Ahmed Mashriqi, all of whom are in prison, while 12 defendants in the case were charged with "conspiracy against state security", the radio reported.
The court also sentenced three other defendants on the run to 20 years in prison, including former foreign minister and Ennahda leader Rafik Abdeslam, former parliamentarian Maher Zeid, and blogger Mohamed al-Samti.
In the same context, the court sentenced six other defendants to three years in prison, including Ennahda leaders and former parliamentarians Mohamed Koumani and Belkacem Hassan.
At the time of writing, there has been no official comment from the Tunisian authorities on these rulings, which remain preliminary and subject to appeal before other judicial chambers.
The issue of Ramadan smear
The case of the "Ramadan sammara" dates back to February 2023, when the authorities arrested a group of opposition politicians, lawyers, civil society activists, and businessmen, on charges of "attempting to harm public order and undermining state security", "espionage with foreign parties", and "inciting chaos or disobedience", which the defendants deny.
In April 2023, security forces raided and arrested the home of Ghannouchi, 84, the former speaker of parliament, and later issued a decision to send him to prison for statements considered "incitement to chaos and disobedience". The case is known in the media as "al-Masamra", as the statements came during a Ramadan meeting organized by the opposition National Salvation Front in solidarity with political prisoners.
Previous Provisions
Ghannouchi has been sentenced to 14 to 20 years in prison in February by the Court of Appeal, in addition to a three-year prison sentence in January 2025 in the case of "foreign funding", and a two-year prison sentence in November 2025 for donating an international prize to the Red Crescent Society.
Ghannouchi, who has been in prison since April 2023, refuses to attend the trial sessions and considers the cases against him "political settling scores", while the authorities confirm that the judiciary is independent and that all detainees face criminal charges related to "conspiracy against state security" or "corruption", while spectrums of the opposition and human rights organizations believe that these cases are of a "political nature" and are used to liquidate opponents and muzzle voices critical of President Kais Saied.