Tunisia appeals court raises prison sentence of Ennahda leader Ghannouchi to 20 years

An appeals court in Tunisia has increased the prison sentence of Rached Ghannouchi, leader of the country’s Ennahda Movement and former parliament speaker, to 20 years on charges of “conspiring against state security,” local media said Tuesday. The state news agency TAP, citing a judicial source, said the court also handed down the same sentence to Kamal Al-Badawi, a former security official. A court of first instance had earlier sentenced both Ghannouchi and Badawi to 14 years in prison. The appeals court also sentenced Rayan Al-Hamzawi, mayor of Zahra in Ben Arous governorate in northeastern Tunisia, to three years in prison, down from 12 years, and sentenced both Mahrez Al-Zouari, a former intelligence chief, and Abdelkarim Al-Abidi, a former head […]