Ahmad 
A court in Tunis sentenced Abir Moussi, the leader of the Free Constitutional Party and potential presidential candidate, to two years in prison on Monday evening.
The court convicted Moussi of insulting the Independent High Authority for Elections, two months before the election.
The court decided to convict Abir Moussi, who is known for her opposition to President Kais Saied’s policies, based on a complaint filed by the electoral authority at the beginning of this year, accusing Moussi of insulting and inciting against it.
The authorities have detained Abir Moussi since last October, on charges related to processing personal data, obstructing the right to work, and inciting chaos, and her party considered her arrest to be an attempt by the authorities to find legal grounds to exclude her from the presidential race.
Despite being in prison, Abir Moussi submitted her candidacy file for the presidential elections scheduled for October 6.
The defense committee submitted the file last Saturday, despite the lack of some basic documents for official acceptance, including the judicial record card and the form used to collect voter endorsements.
Tunisian prisons are also home to other opposition figures, such as Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi, who are accused of conspiring against state security. They announced their intention to run for president, but backed down after the authorities prevented them from appointing a personal representative to submit their candidacy files.
Opposition parties accused President Kais Saied of using the judiciary to exclude his rivals from the presidential elections. The president denied these accusations, considering that “the allegations aim to spread rumors and chaos in the country.”
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