President of Tunisia's Free Destourian Party Abir Moussi speaks to the media during a protest demanding the dissolution of parliament and asking for early legislative elections, in Tunis, Tunisia November 20, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
TUNIS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A Tunisian court on Friday sentenced prominent opposition figure Abir Moussi to 12 years in prison, her lawyer told Reuters, in what rights groups say is a new step towards entrenching President Kais Saied's one-man rule and using the judiciary to crush his critics.
"The ruling is unjust and is not a judicial decision but a politically motivated order," Moussi's lawyer Nafaa Laribi told Reuters.
Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, has been imprisoned since 2023 after police arrested her at the presidential palace entrance on suspicion of assault intended to cause chaos, in what critics say was part of a crackdown on opposition politicians.
(Reporting By Tarek Amara; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
