Tunisia Sentences Ex-PM Ali Laarayedh to 34 Years in Prison Amid Crackdown on Dissent

Tunisia’s former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh has been sentenced to 34 years in prison by a Tunisian court on terrorism charges, in a move widely condemned as politically motivated by opposition figures and international rights groups.

Laarayedh, 69, was convicted of allegedly helping establish a terrorist cell and facilitating the travel of young Tunisians to join extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. A senior figure in the opposition Ennahda party, Laarayedh has firmly denied all accusations, branding the charges as part of a broader campaign of repression by President Kais Saied’s administration.

“I was neither sympathetic, nor complicit, nor neutral, nor lenient towards violence, terrorism,” he told the court, rejecting the allegations as baseless.

The former prime minister, who led the country from 2013 to 2014 during Tunisia’s fragile democratic transition, has been in detention since 2022. His sentencing marks one of the most severe penalties handed down to a former senior official in recent Tunisian history. He is among at least 40 critics of President Saied who have been arrested in a sweeping crackdown over the past few weeks.

Laarayedh’s political party, Ennahda, once held the largest bloc in Tunisia’s now-dissolved parliament. Often labeled as a moderate Islamist party, Ennahda has been a central player in Tunisia’s post-revolution politics. Since the 2011 uprising that overthrew longtime autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Ennahda leaders have faced persistent pressure, but the recent wave of arrests is unprecedented in its scope and severity.

President Saied, a former law professor, was initially elected on promises of reform and anti-corruption. But since suspending parliament in 2021 and subsequently ruling by decree, he has been accused of dismantling Tunisia’s hard-won democratic gains. In 2022, he introduced a new constitution that significantly expanded presidential powers and weakened judicial and parliamentary oversight.

The government has justified the arrests as necessary to preserve national security. Critics, however, see them as a purge of political opponents under the guise of counterterrorism. Rights organisations and opposition groups have warned that Tunisia is drifting back toward authoritarianism.

“This sentencing isn’t about justice—it’s about silencing dissent,” said a spokesperson for the Tunisian League for Human Rights. “It sends a chilling message to anyone who dares oppose President Saied’s consolidation of power.”

The jailing of Laarayedh, who remains a prominent opposition voice despite his incarceration, is likely to escalate tensions in an already polarized political environment. Supporters of Ennahda and other opposition groups have called for mass demonstrations and international pressure on the Tunisian government.

As Tunisia battles economic turmoil, high youth unemployment, and a growing disillusionment with politics, the sentencing of a former head of government could signal a decisive end to the Arab world’s most hopeful democratic experiment.