Rached Ghannouchi among Tunisian opposition leaders sent to prison

Several prominent Tunisian opposition leaders, including Rached Ghannouchi, have been sentenced to prison. The leader of Tunisia's Ennahda movement, one of a number of officials charged with conspiring against state security, was given a 14-year term.

His political party was previously in government following the fall in 2011 of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as part of the Arab uprisings, but it relinquished power in 2013.

Mr Ghannouchi has served as parliamentary speaker and is among many prominent opposition figures to have faced prosecution since current President Kais Saied took power six years ago.

Mr Ghannouchi's defence team denied the conspiracy charges and said legal proceedings had not met the standards of a fair trial. “All accusations were based on a false and contradictory testimony by a secret, anonymous witness who failed to present any evidence for his baseless and contradictory allegations, and who ultimately retracted most of them,” his lawyers said.

The court sentenced 21 people to between 12 and 35 years in the mass trial. Ten others were already in custody, while 11 accused have fled the country.

The judge overseeing the case issued arrest warrants for several party members tried in absentia, including Mr Ghannouchi's son Mouadh and former foreign minister Rafik Abdessalem.

The other defendants faced charges including participating in an organisation linked to terrorist acts, inciting violence, attempting to overthrow the government, and recruiting and training individuals for terrorist purposes within Tunisia and abroad.

Mr Ghannouchi, 86, has also been charged in relation to several other cases but refuses to appear before courts that he considers to be politically manipulated. He has already served prison sentences totalling more than 20 years, with money laundering among the convictions.

His lawyers have denounced what they call “unjustified judicial harassment” by authorities and are calling for the release of imprisoned Islamist leaders.