عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Tunisia Presidential Candidate Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

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

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

UN Envoy to Syria Warns Conflict Not Over

Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
TT

UN Envoy to Syria Warns Conflict Not Over

Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)

Syria's conflict "has not ended" even after the departure of former president Bashar al-Assad, the UN's envoy to the country warned Tuesday, highlighting clashes between Turkish-backed and Kurdish groups in the north.

Geir Pedersen, the UN's special envoy for Syria, also called at the Security Council for Israel to "cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan" and said an end to sanctions would be key to assisting Syria.

"There have been significant hostilities in the last two weeks, before a ceasefire was brokered... A five-day ceasefire has now expired and I am seriously concerned about reports of military escalation," he said.

"Such an escalation could be catastrophic."

Pedersen also said he had met with Syria's new de facto leadership following the opposition’s lightning takeover, and toured Sednaya prison's "dungeons" and "torture and execution chambers," operated under Assad's government.

He called for "broad support" for Syria and an end to sanctions to allow for reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.

"Concrete movement on an inclusive political transition will be key in ensuring Syria receives the economic support it needs," Pedersen said.

- 'Attacks on Syria's sovereignty' -

"There is a clear international willingness to engage. The needs are immense and could only be addressed with broad support, including a smooth end to sanctions, appropriate action on designations, too, and full reconstruction."

Western countries are wrestling with their approach to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the takeover of Damascus, and has roots in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.

It has largely been designated in the West as a "terrorist" group, despite moderating its rhetoric.

Pedersen noted Israel had conducted more than 350 strikes on Syria following the departure of the former regime, including a major strike on Tartous.

"Such attacks place a battered civilian population at further risk and undermine the prospects of an orderly political transition," he said.

The envoy warned against plans announced by Israel's cabinet to expand settlements inside the Golan, occupied by Israel since 1967 and annexed in 1981.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security briefing atop a strategic Syrian peak inside the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights that Israel seized this month.

"Israel must cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan, which are illegal. Attacks on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity must stop," said Pedersen.