A Tunisian court has sentenced presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel to 12 years in prison on charges of falsifying documents, according to his lawyer.
This is the third prison sentence imposed on Zammel in two weeks, just five days before the country’s presidential election.
Zammel, leader of the opposition Azimoun party, was jailed on accusations of falsifying voter signatures for his candidacy. He remains eligible to run in the election while imprisoned, though he denies the charges, calling them politically motivated by President Kais Saied’s government.
Tensions have heightened in Tunisia as the election approaches. Critics accuse President Saied of using the judiciary to suppress opposition, after three other prominent candidates were disqualified by an electoral commission appointed by Saied.
Despite a ruling from Tunisia’s administrative court to reinstate the barred candidates, the electoral commission rejected the decision, and parliament loyal to Saied passed a law removing the court’s authority over election disputes.
The opposition, along with civil society groups, has condemned what they call Saied’s authoritarian actions and have planned mass protests ahead of the election.
Saied, who dissolved parliament in 2021 and now rules by decree, claims his expanded powers are necessary to fight corruption in the country.
Tunisia, once hailed for its democratic progress after the 2011 Arab Spring, faces growing political unrest as it nears the October 6 election.