Tunisian trial shines light on use of military courts

By FRANCESCA EBEL
Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A 40-year-old Tunisian computer engineer turned corruption fighter will stand trial again in a military court Monday. He is accused of insulting the presidency and defaming the army. It is the latest in a series of trials that shine a light on Tunisia’s use of military courts to push through convictions against civilians. Rights groups say the practice has accelerated since President Kais Saied’s seizure of power in July and they warn that its use further threatens hard-won freedoms amid Tunisia’s democratic backsliding. The charges that Yassine Ayari faces relate to Facebook posts in which he criticized Saied. He called him a “pharaoh” and his measures a “military coup.”