A Tunisian military court has sentenced opposition leader Olfa Hamdi to four years in prison on charges of plotting against state security and inciting the military to disobey orders, her lawyer said on Wednesday.
Hamdi holds both Tunisian and United States citizenship. Her lawyer, Akram Moussa, said the charges arose from her social media posts. She has repeatedly criticised the rule of President Kais Saied and called for a transitional government and early presidential elections.
Sentence stems from two convictions and fines
According to her lawyer, the four-year term comprises two separate two-year sentences from two additional convictions. Hamdi was also ordered to pay 80,000 dinars ($26,000) in fines.
Hamdi was sentenced in March to two years in prison in a separate case. Global human rights organisations have widely criticised the cases against her, and critics say they are the latest in a crackdown on Saied’s opponents.
Background to her detention and 2024 bid
Hamdi, who leads the Third Republic Party, sought to run for president in Tunisia’s 2024 elections when she was 36. Her candidacy was rejected because she did not meet the minimum age of 40 for candidates.
She was detained at Tunisia’s main airport in February after getting off a flight. She had been living abroad, where she ran a consulting firm in the US, after briefly serving as head of the national airline Tunisair.
US response and protests against Saied
A US Department of State spokesperson said Washington was “closely tracking the situation.” Rights groups have accused Saied of rolling back freedoms in a 2021 power grab.
On Saturday, thousands of Tunisians joined the largest protest against Saied in years, accusing him of undermining democracy and mishandling the economy. Saied rejects accusations that he targets political opponents, saying the law applies to everyone regardless of their position.
