Former Tunisian President Marzouki has been sentenced to four years in prison

Ex-Tunisian President Marzouki sentenced to 4 years in absentia A Tunisian court has sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki in absentia to four years in prison for “assaulting” the security of the state, according to state media.

The 76-year-old, who currently lives in France, had previously criticised President Kais Saied and called for protests. In a statement to Al Jazeera, Marzouki rejected the ruling as illegal, saying it was “issued by an illegitimate president who overturned the constitution”.

He said the accusations against him are a “reversal of the facts” and instead apply to Saied, who in July seized sweeping executive powers. Marzouki also said it was his “destiny to fight against a dictatorship” in his country until the end of his life, but indicated that he would not ask any lawyer to appeal the ruling.

Saied, a former constitutional law professor, was elected president in 2019. Earlier this month, he declared parliament would remain frozen until new elections on December 17 next year. After Tunisia’s 2011 revolution that introduced democracy, an elected assembly appointed Marzouki as the interim president, overseeing the transition to a new constitution in 2014.