Latest Tunisia government News

Tunisian opposition wants political prisoners freed before taking part in presidential election

Apr. 30, 2024 22:18 PM EDT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s main opposition coalition said Tuesday it won’t take part in the North African country’s upcoming presidential election unless President Kais Saied’s political opponents are freed and judicial independence is restored. More than 20 political...

Tunisian journalist sentenced to 6 months in prison for insulting an official

Apr. 18, 2024 09:31 AM EDT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A judge in Tunisia sentenced a journalist and political commentator to six months in prison in the country's latest assault on members of the media who criticize the government. Mohamed Boughalleb, who had been charged with insulting a public official, was...

Italy's leader keeps the focus on migration on her fourth visit to Tunisia in a year

Apr. 17, 2024 14:17 PM EDT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The head of Italy's right-wing government acknowledged Wednesday that Tunisia cannot serve as a dumping ground for migrants, days after Tunisia's president reaffirmed his unwillingness to let Europe outsource migration problems by sending those not welcome there to his...

Tunisia sentences 4 to death over pivotal 2013 assassination

Mar. 27, 2024 14:01 PM EDT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Four people were sentenced Wednesday to death and two to life in prison for a murder that sparked widespread unrest in Tunisia and became emblematic of the country's early challenges transitioning from dictatorship to democracy after the Arab Spring. Chokri...

Tunisia's ex-president Moncef Marzouki sentenced to 8 years in absentia

Feb. 24, 2024 12:52 PM EST

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A court in Tunisia sentenced former president Moncef Marzouki to eight years in prison in absentia as part of the country's crackdown on opponents of President Kais Saied. The charges against Marzouki, who lives in Paris, stemmed from remarks he made that...

Two daughters ran away to join Islamic State. Years later, their family’s story is an Oscar nominee

Feb. 24, 2024 01:26 AM EST

Olfa Hamrouni doesn’t know much about her granddaughter; not her favorite toy nor food — is it the pasta the child’s mother loves, or something else? The Tunisian grandmother doesn’t even let her mind go there. “I don’t want to know. What for but more heartache?” she...

Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi joins group of imprisoned hunger strikers

Feb. 19, 2024 15:34 PM EST

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi began a hunger strike in prison on Monday, joining other government critics striking to protest what they see as unjust incarceration. Imed Khemiri, the spokesperson for his political party, told The Associated...