Moussi faces death penalty as Tunisia’s political crackdown intensifies

Lawyers for Abir Moussi, the imprisoned leader of Tunisia’s Free Constitutional Party, have launched an appeal against charges that could carry a death sentence, amid growing concerns over the country’s treatment of political dissent.

Moussi, 49, stands accused of “planning to change the state structure”, a charge stemming from an incident at the Presidential Palace’s Registration Office. She was arrested in October 2023 while attempting to file a grievance against President Kais Saied’s decrees.

The former MP’s detention has drawn widespread criticism from political and human rights organisations, who argue that authorities are weaponising Article 72 of the Penal Code – which criminalises “conspiring against state security” – to silence political opponents.

The case has garnered significant attention as prosecutors allege Moussi intended to restore a regime similar to that of former president Ben Ali, who was ousted during the 2011 revolution. Her party maintains she was merely exercising her legal right to appeal presidential decisions.

The charges emerge amid a broader crackdown on opposition figures in Tunisia. Since February, authorities have detained several prominent individuals, including Rached Ghannouchi, the historic leader of the Islamist Ennahda party, along with former ministers and businessmen.

Moussi, a vocal critic of both President Saied and the Ennahda party, saw her presidential candidacy rejected by the electoral commission in last October’s election. She faces additional legal challenges, including charges of spreading “misleading information” about the 2022 legislative elections following President Saied’s 2021 political overhaul.

While President Saied has defended the wave of arrests by labelling the detainees as “terrorists” involved in a “conspiracy against state security”, critics argue these actions reflect an increasingly authoritarian approach to governance in post-revolution Tunisia.