Tunisia’s anti-terrorism judge has sent Ali Laarayedh, a former prime minister and senior official in the Islamist opposition Ennahda party to jail.
The judge handed Laarayedh the sentence after hours of investigation into suspicions of sending terrorists to Syria.“The investigative judge issued a prison decision against former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh in what is known as the deportation terrorist file,” lawyer Ines Harrath said.
“This is true,” Mokthat Jmayi, another Laarayedh lawyer stated without giving more details.
In a statement issued by Ennahda, the party rejected the accusation of terrorism, calling it a political attack on a cynic of President Kais Saied to hide “the catastrophic failure of the elections”.
Less than 10% Tunisian voters cast ballots in Saturday’s parliamentary elections, Farouk Bouasker, the head of the electoral commission said, after most political parties boycotted the vote as a sham to shore up President Kais Saied’s power.
Major parties, among them the Salvation Front, which includes Ennahda and its arch-rival, the Free Constitutional Party, said Saied had no legitimacy and should step down, calling for massive protests. This came after the turnout figures were announced.
Ennahda, the main opposition party, has accused Saied of an anti-democratic coup since he seized most powers last year, shutting down the parliament and moving to rule by decree, powers he has largely formalised with a new constitution ratified in a July referendum.
Reports indicate that about 6,000 Tunisians travelled to Syria and Iraq in the last 10 years, to join terror groups including Islamic State. Many were killed there while others escaped and returned to Tunisia.
