TUNIS, Tunisia 

Rached Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda Movement and former parliament speaker, said Sunday that the North African country’s political future should be grounded in democracy, the rule of law and peaceful transfer of power.

In a message addressed to members of his movement from Mornaguia Prison near Tunis, Ghannouchi said nations “are not built on repression nor stabilized by injustice, but rather on consultation, justice and respect for the will of the people.”

He described democracy as a peaceful mechanism for alternation of power and protection of rights, arguing that it is compatible with Islamic principles aimed at preventing tyranny and safeguarding human dignity.

“Tunisia’s future is freedom, even if after a while. Its future is a state of law, institutions and peaceful alternation of power, with respect for pluralism and difference,” he said in his message.

Ghannouchi acknowledged that political paths may falter and that progress may be slow, but said that “living nations do not die and the will for freedom is not defeated forever.”

Addressing Ennahda supporters, he urged them to remain committed to their values and principles, saying that “loyalty should be directed toward justice rather than individuals.”

On Feb. 3, a Tunisian appeals court increased Ghannouchi’s prison sentence to 20 years on charges of conspiring against state security. He had previously been sentenced to 14 years in the same case.

Ghannouchi, 84, has been held since April 2023.

Tunisian authorities say Ghannouchi and other defendants are being prosecuted on criminal charges related to state security and deny any political interference in judicial proceedings. Critics and opposition figures, however, argue the cases are part of a wider campaign targeting opponents of President Kais Saied’s exceptional measures introduced in July 2021.

Saied maintains that those steps were taken to protect the state and restore order, rejecting accusations of rolling back democratic freedoms.

*Writing by Tarek Chouiref