Former President Mansoor Marzouki urges Tunisians to be patient and not surrender
Former President Mansoor al-Marsouqi called for not giving up in times of political weakness, stressing in his letter that the wind was beginning to blow as the ships wished.
In his letter, al-Marsouqi discussed the course of the public landscape and the political and legal conditions that the country is going through.
In his commentary on political developments, Marzouki wrote a phrase urging his followers to be prepared, saying that the wind was beginning to blow as the ships wished. This appeal to the public comes as he opposes the course of extraordinary measures taken by President Kais Saied since 25 July 2021 and the subsequent resolution of Parliament and adoption of a new constitution.
On 22 December 2021, the court had issued a preliminary absentia sentence against Marzouki, who is serving a 4-year jail term with immediate effect for assault on foreign state security. The Criminal Chamber of the Tunisian Primary Court subsequently issued a second absentia sentence on 23 February 2024 to serve eight years in prison under Section 72 of the Penal Code for conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with intent to overthrow state authority.
This legal framework is based on prosecutions involving opponents under the Criminal Journal chapters and anti-terrorism laws, following the investigative judge's issuance of an international citation card against the former president since November 2021.
The next step announced by Marzouki and opposition forces is to intensify diplomatic and legal moves abroad, along with continuing the international judicial challenge of the legitimacy of prosecutions issued by the current system of government.