Tunisia Presidential Candidate Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

Tunisian politician Ayachi Zammel (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tunisian politician Ayachi Zammel (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Tunisia Presidential Candidate Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

Tunisian politician Ayachi Zammel (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tunisian politician Ayachi Zammel (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Tunisian politician Ayachi Zammel, a candidate in the north African country's October 6 presidential election, has been sentenced for 12 years in prison, but his lawyer said on Tuesday his client has the right to run for elections.

“The court in Tunis sentenced Ayachi Zammel to 12 years in prison in four cases” related to voter endorsements, lawyer Abdessater Messoudi told AFP. Messoudi said Zammel “remains a candidate in the election” on Sunday.

Monday’s ruling is the third prison sentence imposed on Zammel in two weeks, just five days before the presidential election.

Last Wednesday, a Jendouba court handed down a six-month jail sentence to Zammel for “falsification of documents,” adding to a 20-month term the same court imposed on September 18.

A total of 37 separate prosecutions have been launched against him nationwide on similar charges, his lawyer said.

The Tunisian judiciary accuses Zammel of breaking the rules on endorsements.

He was arrested on September 2 on suspicion of falsifying popular endorsements before he was released on September 6. But, the candidate was almost immediately rearrested on similar accusations.

Zammel, 47, is one of just three candidates approved by Tunisia's Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), along Saied, 66 and former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui, 59.

The final ISIE list excluded Imed Daimi, an adviser to former president Moncef Marzouki, former minister Mondher Zenaidi and opposition party leader Abdellatif Mekki.

Human Rights Watch accused ISIE of skewing the ballot with at least eight prospective candidates prosecuted, convicted or imprisoned in the run-up to the election.

Prospective candidates had also complained of bureaucratic obstacles such as obtaining the required paperwork to enable them to put their names forward in the election.

The recent developments came two days after Tunisia's parliament approved a law stripping the Administrative Court of its authority to adjudicate electoral disputes.

Out of a total 161 lawmakers, 116 voted for the major amendment to the electoral law.

Civil rights activists and opposition parties that opposed the amendment said it threatens the integrity of the elections.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.