By Tarek Amara
TUNIS, Oct 21 (Reuters) – A Tunisian military court sentenced opposition politician 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, the latest move against opponents of President Kais Saied.
Hamdi, the leader of the Third Republic Party who holds US citizenship, was detained at Tunisia’s main airport after disembarking from a flight in February.
She had been living abroad and previously served as CEO of Tunisia’s national carrier Tunisair.
Hamdi has repeatedly criticized Saied’s rule and called for a transitional government and early presidential elections.
The sentence comprises two separate two-year prison terms and total fines of 80,000 dinars ($26,000), her lawyer Akram Moussa told Reuters. Hamdi was sentenced in March in a separate case to two years in prison.
Many opposition leaders, along with activists and journalists, are behind bars, with critics accusing Saied of having turned Tunisia into a prison since 2021.
Saied rejects the accusations, saying he is not a dictator and that the law applies to everyone, regardless of their position.
Thousands of Tunisians joined the largest protest against Saied in years last weekend, accusing him of undermining democracy and mishandling the economy in a growing challenge to his rule.
($1 = 2.9814 Tunisian dinars)
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Rod Nickel)
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