Tunisia sentences ex-president to jail in absentia 

A Tunisian court yesterday sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki to four years in prison in absentia.

The court convicted Marzouki of “attacking the external security of the state,” according to the official Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP).

Marzouki, who currently resides in the French capital Paris, accused current Tunisian President Kais Saied of staging a coup in July after the latter announced he was suspending parliament, fired the prime minister, and arrested officials.

Tunisia’s president Kais Saied is bleeding the country – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

Saied has rejected the accusations, claiming that he was acting to end protracted political paralysis and that a referendum will be held next year on a new constitution, followed by parliamentary elections.

In early November, a judge in charge of the case issued an international arrest warrant for Marzouki.

Marzouki was elected by an elected assembly as the interim president of Tunisia in 2011 after the revolution which overthrew former President Zine El Abidine.

READ: Former president says Saied is ‘unable to run the country’