Abir Moussi, a potential presidential candidate in Tunisia, has been sentenced to two years in prison for criticizing the electoral process and presidential decrees.
The 49-year-old lawyer and head of the Free Destourian Party was found guilty of violating an anti-fake news decree, which has been widely used to prosecute critics of the authorities.
Moussi’s lawyer, Nafaa Laribi, confirmed that she still intends to run in the October 6 presidential election, as nothing in the sentence prevents her from doing so.
Laribi plans to appeal the decision, stating that Moussi’s morale remains high.
The sentence marks another setback for Tunisia’s opposition, which is challenging President Kais Saied’s bid for a new term.
Moussi’s imprisonment is part of a growing crackdown on Saied’s critics, regardless of political affiliation. With leading opposition figures in prison, Saied is expected to face little competition in the election.
Moussi’s popularity stems from her appeal to those nostalgic for Tunisia’s pre-revolutionary era. A strong critic of Islamists, she was an official in the ruling party of longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Over the years, she has become one of Tunisia’s most popular and contentious political figures.
