Summary:

On 1 February 2024, imprisoned leader of the Ennahdha party, Rached Ghannouchi, was sentenced to three additional years in prison for facilitating the illicit receipt of foreign financing for the Ennahdha party.  

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The Ennahdha party, which denies any wrongdoing and continues to allege that the legal case against Ghannouchi is politically motivated, was also fined €1.1 million for the receipt of foreign funds. Furthermore, Ennahdha party member and son-in-law of Ghannouchi, Rafik Abdessalem was also sentenced in absentia to three years in prison as he resides outside of Tunisia. 

Ghannouchi was sentenced to one year in prison in May 2023 for critical comments made about Tunisian security forces.  

Ghannouchi’s sentencing comes on the heels of reporting that indicated the late former US official Henry Kissinger may have been involved in sending funds to opposition politicians in Tunisia. 

Outlook: 

Ghannouchi’s sentencing puts additional light on the current administration’s focus on limiting foreign funding and its role in Tunisian politics and administration. 

In step with President Saied’s rejection of foreign influence on Tunisia’s internal politics and economics, the government has taken an aggressive stance against foreign funding, including taking steps that would limit the ability of foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to fund their projects in Tunisia. 

Efforts to monitor and control funding risk further isolating Tunisia internationally in the medium and long term as international investors and development organizations grow increasingly skeptical of how the government could encroach upon their financial operations. 

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