A Tunisian court has convicted four women of collecting signatures for a presidential candidate in exchange for money.
This was reported by Alaa Eddine Al-Awadi, the official spokesperson for the Jendouba Court of First Instance, following a session held on Wednesday, which ended with a criminal ruling in absentia sentencing three women to two years in prison, and a fourth woman to four years in absentia after she fled justice.
The ruling stipulates that the defendants be imprisoned with immediate effect and deprived of the right to vote for ten years, after they were convicted of collecting signatures in exchange for financial gifts for one of the presidential candidates.
The Public Prosecution opened a case against the four women in the case of offering cash gifts to influence voters, as they stated in the report that they received promises of employment with the help of the party for which they worked.
Tunisian human rights activists and opposition political parties accused President Kais Saied of putting pressure on the judiciary to suppress his rivals in the elections, and complained of restrictions, oppression, and an atmosphere of intimidation and terror that they say indicates a desire to pave the way for Saied to win a new term, which they considered a threat to the credibility of the upcoming elections.
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