Tunisia: ex-president calls prison sentence a ‘threat’ to Saied’s political opponents

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki has said that the prison sentence handed down to the former head of the bar association, Abdulrazzaq Kilani, is a “threatening message” from the current President, Kais Saied, to opponents of the exceptional measures he introduced last year.

“The prison sentence against Brigadier General Kilani is a message of threat to all opponents, including the naive who did not understand the nature of a man who wants to be known with firmness and severity,” wrote Marzouki on Facebook.

Kilani is accused of “provoking a gathering that would harm public security, and inciting a public employee not to perform his duties” for calling on security forces not to implement orders that contradict freedoms and rights in the country.

On Wednesday, dozens of Tunisian politicians and human rights defenders organised a protest in front of the military court headquarters in the capital, Tunis, to express their solidarity with Kilani, and their refusal to try civilians before military courts.

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