With just days to Tunisia’s presidential election, Ayachi Zammel, one of the candidates, has been sentenced to six months in prison for using a fraudulent certificate.
The Criminal Chamber of the Jendouba Court of First Instance issued the sentence, according to Tunisia’s TAP news agency.
READ ALSO: Tunisia, EU sign deal to tackle migration
Zammel, who had already been sentenced to 20 months for falsifying popular endorsement documents, faces these charges after being accused of deliberately using fraudulent documentation. He was initially arrested on September 2 for allegedly falsifying signatures needed to contest the presidency but was released four days later. However, he was rearrested on similar charges.
Abdessattar Massoudi, Zammel’s lawyer, dismissed the court’s ruling, calling it a calculated move to undermine his client’s candidacy. “It is another unjust ruling and a farce that clearly aims to weaken him in the election race, but we will defend his right to the last minute,” Massoudi told Reuters.
The ruling comes just days before Tunisia’s presidential election, scheduled for October 6.
