Tunisia court sentences opposition leader to four years

A Tunisian military court sentenced opposition politician Olfa Hamdi to four years in prison on convictions including plotting against state security and inciting military personnel to disobey orders, her lawyer said. The cases stemmed in part from social media posts criticizing President Kais Saied; the sentence consists of two additional two-year terms, with a reported 80,000 dinars in fines. Hamdi, a dual Tunisian-American and leader of the Third Republic Party, was arrested in February and had already received a separate two-year sentence. Her attempted run for president in 2024 was rejected because she was below the constitutionally required minimum age of 40. Critics say her prosecution is part of a wider crackdown on Saied’s opponents, while Saied rejects claims that he is targeting political rivals; the U.S. State Department said it was closely monitoring the case.