Tunis Prison former Prime Minister of Terrorism Prime Ministers

The Tunisia Court has sentenced former Prime Minister Ali Laarayed to 34 years in prison on a number of accusations of terrorism.

He is the newest high-ranking critic of the president, who will be closed as the campaigns struck “false trials” in the country.

The 69 -year -old is a prominent opponent of President Kayce Said and the leader of the popular Enada party – the largest in parliament – who encourages Islamist ideals.

Along with seven other people, Laarayed has been accused of creating a terrorist cell and helping young Tunisians travel abroad to join Islamist fighters in Iraq and Syria.

“I’m not a criminal … In this case, I’m a victim,” he wrote in a letter to the court prosecutor last month, according to the AFP News Agency.

He was sentenced on Friday.

Laarayedh has consistently denied any misconduct and said the case was politically motivated.

In recent weeks, At least 40 critics of the President of Tunisia have been sent to prison – including diplomats, lawyers and journalists.

The rights groups say that these lawsuits have pointed out the authoritarian control of Saied over the judicial system after disbanding parliament in 2021 and being ordered by decree.

As he was first elected six years ago, the former law professor rewrites the Constitution to improve his powers.

Laaraid was arrested three years ago and campaigns called for his release –including Human Rights WatchWhoever said that the affair seems like “Another example of President Said’s authorities, who are trying to silence the leaders of the party of Echda and other opponents by directing them as terrorists.”

Eohdha ruled the North African nation briefly after a popular uprising called the Arab Spring.

The protest movement occurs in Tunisia – where a vegetable seller called Mohammed Buzizi who set fire to the government corruption – and the mass demonstrations soon spread to the wider region in 2011.

However, many Tunisians say that since then, democratic profits have been lost, the authoritarian grip of the current president on power.

Still, President Said rejected criticism from the inside and out of the country, stating that he was fighting “traitors” and suffering from “screaming foreign intervention”.