A Tunisian court sentenced former President Moncef Marzouki to four years in prison in absentia on Wednesday after he criticized President Kais Saied and called for protests.

According to the state news agency TAP, the court found Marzouki guilty of “assaulting the external security of the state.”

Marzouki, who lives in Paris, has called Saied’s seizure of power in July a coup, and has called for protests against him as well as the relocation of a major international meeting of French-speaking countries from Tunisia.

Saied has denied that his seizure of power, suspension of parliament, and plans to change the constitution constitute a coup. He stated that he acted to end protracted political paralysis and that a referendum on a new constitution will be held next year, followed by parliamentary elections.

Foreign donors, who are needed to help address a looming crisis in Tunisia’s public finances, have urged Saied to restore normal constitutional order and have stated that democracy and freedom of expression are critical to their relationship with the North African country.

Following Tunisia’s democratic revolution in 2011, an elected assembly appointed Marzouki as interim president, overseeing the transition to a new constitution in 2014.