Tunisian presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel has been sentenced to six months in prison for document falsification, marking the second jail sentence handed down to him within a week, just days before the presidential election. Tunisia’s official news agency, TAP, reported on Wednesday that the Criminal Chamber of the Jendouba Court of First Instance convicted Zammel for “knowingly using a fraudulent certificate.”
This follows a previous sentencing of 20 months in prison last week on charges related to falsifying endorsements required for his candidacy. Zammel’s lawyer, Abdessattar Massoudi, denounced the latest ruling, calling it “another unjust decision” aimed at weakening Zammel’s position in the election. He vowed to defend his client’s rights up until the final moment.
The ruling highlights growing tensions ahead of the October 6 election. Opposition parties and civil society organizations have raised concerns over potential election manipulation designed to keep the current president, Kais Saied, in power.
Zammel, a businessman largely unknown prior to his presidential run, was initially arrested on September 2, 2024, for allegedly falsifying signatures on his candidacy papers. Although he was released on September 6, he was rearrested shortly after on similar charges. He is running as one of only three candidates officially approved to compete in the upcoming election, alongside incumbent President Saied and Zouhair Magzhaoui, a former ally of Saied.
Political unrest has heightened in Tunisia as the election nears, especially after the Saied-appointed electoral commission disqualified three prominent candidates earlier this month. This sparked protests from opposition groups. The court later ruled that Tunisia’s election authority must reinstate the disqualified candidates. However, one of them, Abdellatif El Mekki, was subsequently arrested on charges stemming from a 2014 murder case, which critics claim is politically motivated.
Saied, who came to power in the 2019 election, has faced increasing criticism for his 2021 power consolidation, during which he dissolved Parliament and began ruling by decree. Several opposition leaders have since been jailed.
SOURCE: aljazeera
MORE NEWS ON: https://dew360.net
Join our WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VakDz4u9RZATWh53yC1a
