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A Tunisian Presidential Candidate Sentenced to 20 Months Vows to Campaign from Prison

A general view of Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis, virtually deserted on the first day of a general lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ordered by Tunisia's president, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 22, 2020. (Reuters)
A general view of Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis, virtually deserted on the first day of a general lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ordered by Tunisia's president, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 22, 2020. (Reuters)
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A Tunisian Presidential Candidate Sentenced to 20 Months Vows to Campaign from Prison

A general view of Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis, virtually deserted on the first day of a general lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ordered by Tunisia's president, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 22, 2020. (Reuters)
A general view of Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis, virtually deserted on the first day of a general lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ordered by Tunisia's president, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 22, 2020. (Reuters)

One of the candidates challenging Tunisian President Kais Saied in the country's presidential election next month has been sentenced to prison on fraud charges that his attorney decried as politically motivated.

Two weeks after his arrest, a court in the city of Jendouba handed down a 20-month sentence for Ayachi Zammel on Wednesday evening, after convicting him of falsifying the signatures he gathered to file the candidacy papers needed to run for president. Zammel faces more than 20 charges in jurisdictions throughout Tunisia, including four that will be heard on Thursday, according to The AP.

The little-known businessman and head of Tunisia’s Azimoun party is one of two candidates challenging Saied in the North African nation’s Oct. 6 election.

His attorney Abdessattar Messaoudi said Zammel planned to conduct his campaign from behind bars.

“This is no surprise. We expected such a ruling given the harassment he has been subjected to since announcing his candidacy,” Messaoudi told The AP.

Zammel is among a long list of Saied's opponents who have faced criminal charges and prosecution in the volatile period leading up to October's election. Last month, courts sentenced two candidates — Nizar Chaari and Karim Gharbi — on similar signature fraud charges.

After a court required Tunisia's election authority to reinstate three candidates who had been ruled ineligible to run, one of them — Abdellatif El Mekki — was arrested on charges that stemmed from a 2014 murder investigation that critics have called politically motivated.

Saied's two most prominent critics, the right-wing Free Destourian Party’s Abir Moussi and the Islamist party Ennahda's Rached Ghannouchi, have also been in prison since last year.

Civil liberty advocates have decried the crackdown as a symptom of Tunisia's democratic backslide. Amnesty International this week called it “a clear pre-election assault on the pillars of human rights and the rule of law.”

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Arab World

Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
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Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)

The Houthi militia has recently released several individuals it had abducted for celebrating Yemen’s September Revolution. However, over the past few days, it has detained hundreds of residents in its stronghold of Saada, accusing them of espionage.

The campaign coincides with the airing of alleged confessions from a purported spy cell and the abduction of a former employee of the US Embassy in Yemen.

Local sources in Saada province, approximately 242 kilometers north of Sanaa, report that the Houthis have launched a widespread campaign of arrests targeting civilians. These individuals have been taken from their homes, workplaces, and businesses under allegations of collaborating with Western nations and Israel. Families of those detained have been warned to remain silent and refrain from discussing the arrests with the media or on social media platforms.

According to the sources, more than 300 individuals, including dozens of women, have been abducted across various districts in Saada. The arrests have also targeted relatives and associates of Othman Mujalli, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, who hails from the region.

The sources suggest that the Houthis are detaining women as hostages to pressure their relatives, who may either be out of the militia’s reach or living outside Houthi-controlled areas. They also appear to be using the women to coerce confessions from male relatives. Last month, the Houthis accused Hamid Mujalli, Othman Mujalli’s brother, of engaging in espionage for Arab and Western nations for nearly two decades.

In a separate incident, the Houthis abducted a former employee of the US Embassy in Sanaa from his home on Monday without providing any explanation for their actions.

Release of Detainees

The Houthis recently released Sheikh Amin Rajeh, a tribal leader from Ibb province, after detaining him for four months. Several other individuals were also freed, none of whom had been formally charged during their detention. Rajeh, a member of the General People’s Congress Party, was one of many political activists, students, workers, and public employees abducted in September for celebrating Yemen’s September 26, 1962, revolution.

One of the released individuals, a shop owner, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was unaware of the reason for his detention. He had been abducted in November, two months after the Houthis initiated a crackdown on those commemorating the revolution.

Alleged Spy Cell

Houthi-controlled media recently broadcast confessions from what they claimed was a newly uncovered spy cell. The group linked the cell to its broader narrative of “promised conquest and sacred jihad” against the West and Israel.

According to Houthi security officials, the alleged spy cell was working to compile a “target database,” monitor sites linked to missile forces and drones, and track specific military and security locations. They also claimed the cell had been observing the residences and movements of Houthi leaders.

In response, the Houthis issued warnings to residents, forbidding them from discussing or sharing information about militia-controlled sites, facilities, or the whereabouts of their leaders.

The Houthis’ actions reflect mounting concerns over potential strikes targeting their senior leadership, similar to the recent attacks on Hezbollah figures in Lebanon. Those fears come amid ongoing tensions with Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom, following the Houthis’ assaults on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and missile attacks on Israel.