Tunisia's former October presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel was sentenced to more than 32 months in prison, making his total sentence 35 years, his lawyer told AFP news agency today.
The increased sentence was determined by the court in Manouba, near Tunis, on charges of forging signatures when presenting his candidacy, said lawyer Abdessattar Messaoudi.
The same source added that the total number of convictions against Zammel, a 47-year-old businessman and former leader of the small liberal Azimoun party, "reaches 35 years."
Each suspicious signature led to a process, with 37 investigations opened so far across Tunisia against Zammel, who did not campaign because he has been detained since his candidacy was confirmed on September 2, on suspicion of violating signature collection rules. .
He obtained 7.35% of the votes in the presidential elections, which were won with a large margin (90.7% of the votes) by the outgoing head of state, Kais Saied, in a context of record abstention (less than 30% participation).
The other candidate authorized to run, a former left-wing pan-Arab deputy, Zouhair Maghzaoui, received just 1.97% of the vote.
The European Union lamented "the continued limitation of democratic space in Tunisia", in reaction to Zammel's arrest and the exclusion by the electoral authority of three other competitors considered particularly dangerous to Saied.
For three years, Tunisian and foreign organizations have denounced an "authoritarian drift" by President Saied, with the arrest of more than 20 opponents, as well as trade unionists, civil society activists and journalists.
On July 25, 2021, Saied dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament, before revising the Constitution to reestablish an ultra-presidential regime in which he enjoys full de facto powers.
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