Tunis – A Tunisian military court sentenced an MP and prominent critic of President Kais Saied to five months in prison for insulting the police, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Seifeddine Makhlouf, the head of Islamic nationalist party Al-Karama, was prosecuted after losing his parliamentary immunity following a power grab by Saied last year.
On July 25, Saied sacked the government and suspended the assembly, later dissolving it entirely and seizing control of the judiciary and the electoral board in what opponents have labelled a coup and a death blow to democracy in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
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A military court in the capital found Makhlouf guilty of insulting police during a stand-off at Tunis airport in March 2021, his lawyer Anouar Ouled Ali said, adding Makhlouf would appeal.
Six other people including three Al-Karama members were also handed sentences of up to six months in prison, he said.
Military prosecutors had ordered the arrest of Makhlouf in September for “attacking the dignity of the army” after a dispute with military judges. He had been released on bail in January.
Rights groups say military trials of civilians have become increasingly common in Tunisia since Saied seized.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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