Former Tunisian president Marzouki sentenced to 4 years in absentia | Prison News

Moncef Marzouki, who lives in France, has rejected the court ruling, saying it was “issued by an illegal president who annulled the constitution.”

A Tunisian court has sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki to four years in prison for “attacking” state security, according to state media.

The 76-year-old, who currently lives in France, had previously criticized the president Kais Saied and called for protests.

On Wednesday, local media blamed “foreign security for weakening the state” and causing “diplomatic damage”.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, Marzouki ruled that the verdict was illegal, saying it was “given by an illegitimate president who revoked the constitution.”

He said the charges against him were a “reversal of events” and instead referred to Saied, who took over the executive branch in July.

Marzouki also said that his country is “fighting a dictatorship” until the end of his life, but said he would not ask any lawyer to appeal the verdict.

Meanwhile, his lawyer, Lamia Khemiri, told the AFP news agency that Marzouki had not been summoned to court and did not even know why he had been convicted.

‘Enemies of Tunisia’

Saied, a former professor of Constitutional Law, was elected president in 2019. On July 25, after a month-long political and economic crisis, he removed the government from office, he overthrew parliament and launched a crackdown on corruption.

In September, he tightened his grip on power by saying that most of the 2014 democratic constitution could be ruled by decree at the time of the exceptional measures, and promised a dialogue on further changes. At the beginning of the month, he himself declare parliament would remain frozen until the new elections on December 17 next year. He also announced an 11-week “public consultation” on “constitutional and other reform projects” on July 25, 2022, ahead of a referendum on a new constitution.

Marzouki calls the Saieden movement a coup, called protests against him and asked to move a large international meeting of French speakers from Tunisia.

He has also used regular television appearances and social media to crack down on Saied to launch what he calls “dictator” extremists.

At a rally in early October in Paris, Marzouki, referring to Saied, called on the French government to “reject all support for this man who conspired against and overthrown the regime and the revolution.”

Saied has dismissed allegations of a coup. He said Marzouki was “among the enemies of Tunisia” and called on the courts to investigate the allegations and remove his diplomatic passport.

Foreign donors needed to help deal with the crisis in Tunisia’s public finances have called on Saied to restore normal constitutional order, and democracy and freedom of expression are important to their relations with the North African country.

After the 2011 Tunisian revolution that introduced democracy, Marzouki was appointed interim president by an elected assembly, overseeing the transition to a new constitution in 2014.

Marzouki is no stranger to being taken to court by different presidents. Habib Bourguiba was sentenced to at least seven times in prison and sentenced to 11 months in prison during the tenure of former President Zine EL Abidine Ben Ali.