Tunisians protest against President Saied after a crackdown on critics
The government has come under widespread criticism for a crackdown on dissent following the arrest of prominent lawyer Ahmed Souab, opens new tab, and prison sentences against opposition leaders on conspiring charges last week.
Under the slogan "Free Tunisia, Free Ahmed Souab," protesters marched from the headquarters of the Journalists' union and reached Habib Bourguiba Avenue in the capital, where hundreds of riot police were deployed.
They chanted slogans such as, "It's your turn, Saied, dictator," and "The people want the fall of the regime," a slogan chanted by protesters in 2011 when former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted by weeks of protests.
Protesters held up pictures of imprisoned journalists, politicians, and lawyers, including Souab, a vocal critic of Saied.
Souab's arrest sparked widespread anger among political parties, civil society and rights groups, which said the move was a dangerous escalation of a crackdown on dissent and marked a further entrenchment of the country's authoritarian government.
The opposition says Saied has had full control over the judiciary since he dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. He dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and fired dozens of judges in 2022. They described the move as a coup.
France, Germany and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights criticised the lengthy sentences against opposition leaders and businessmen on conspiracy charges last week, saying the conditions for a fair trial were not met.
Forty people were prosecuted in the trial, which started in March. More than 20 have fled abroad since being charged.
Lawyers said the maximum sentence was 66 years for businessman Kamel Ltaif, while opposition politician Khyam Turki received a 48-year sentence.
Saied said in 2023 that the politicians were "traitors and terrorists" and that judges who would acquit them were their accomplices.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Russian forces take control of three Ukrainian villages across multiple regions, defence ministry says
MOSCOW, July 17 (Reuters) - Russian troops have taken control of three villages in three different parts of the frontline running through Ukraine, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday. Official Ukrainian reports of activity along the 1,000-km (600-mile) front disputed part of the Russian account, particularly concerning a key village in the southeast. Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports from either side. The Russian Defence Ministry report named the three captured settlements as Kamianske in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, Dehtiarne in northeastern Kharkiv region, and Popiv Yar in Donetsk region, the main theatre of Russian operations. Russian forces are engaged in a slow advance westward, mainly through Donetsk region, and Moscow announces the capture of new villages almost every day. Ukrainian military spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn told the media outlet that holding Kamianske, southeast of the region's main town of Zaporizhzhia, was important to keep that city safe from attack. But Kamianske had been all but flattened by long periods of fighting, he said. Ukrainian forces had moved out of it and successfully attacked Russian troops whenever small groups periodically ventured into it. "The Russians cannot go into the village and hold it," Voloshyn was quoted as saying. "There is not a single dwelling left intact, not a single wall left standing, nothing to hold, nothing to enable you to take cover." There was no acknowledgement from Ukraine that Popiv Yar had changed hands - the village lies northeast of Pokrovsk, for months a focal point of Russian attacks in Donetsk region. For at least a week, it has remained in the "grey zone" of uncertain control as reported by DeepState, a Ukrainian military blog based on open source accounts of the fighting. There was no news from Ukrainian officials of the situation at Dehtiarne. On Wednesday, Russia's military announced the capture of the village of Novohatske, southwest of Pokrovsk. Another Ukrainian military spokesperson, Viktor Trehubov, told public broadcaster Suspilne on Thursday that the village was in Russian hands. Moscow controls a little less than 20% of Ukrainian territory and says it has incorporated four regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson into Russia, a move that Kyiv and most Western countries reject as illegal. In 2014, Russia seized and annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, also a claim widely disputed internationally.
Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
EU agrees 18th sanctions package against Russia
BRUSSELS, July 18 (Reuters) - The European Union reached an agreement on an 18th sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine, with a raft of measures aimed at dealing further blows to Russia's oil and energy industry. Its latest sanctions package on Russia will lower the G7's price cap for crude oil to $47.6 per barrel, diplomats told Reuters. "The EU just approved one of its strongest sanctions package against Russia to date," said the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on X. "We will keep raising the costs, so stopping the aggression becomes the only path forward for Moscow," added Kallas.
Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
China says successful US trade talks make return to tariff war unnecessary
BEIJING, July 18 (Reuters) - China wants to bring its trade ties with the U.S. back to a stable footing, its commerce minister said, adding that recent talks in Europe showed there was no need for a tariff war while urging the U.S. to act in a manner befitting of a superpower. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told reporters on Friday that the "ups and downs" in the two countries' relationship underscored their economic interdependence. Asked about the United States specifically, Wang said: "Major countries should act like major countries. They must shoulder their responsibilities," adding that China would protect its national interests. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with the United States, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal last month to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs. If no deal is reached, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100%. Wang said negotiations in Geneva and London earlier this year demonstrated there was no need to return to a trade war. "Practice has proven that through dialogue and consultation, with leadership and communication at the highest levels, we can properly manage contradictions and resolve our differences," he said. "We will continue to strengthen dialogue and communication, deepen consensus, reduce misunderstandings, enhance cooperation, to jointly put China-U.S. economic and trade relations back on track to achieve healthy, stable and sustainable development." China's rare earths exports rose 32% month-on-month in June, customs data showed on Monday, in a sign that agreements struck last month in London to free up the flow of the metals were possibly bearing fruit. Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab will also resume selling its H20 AI chips to China, Chief Executive Jensen Huang said at an event in Beijing this week, a move U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said was also part of negotiations on rare earths. Wang said on Friday that he had met Huang the previous day, describing the meeting as evidence that "as the dust settles, everyone has come to the conclusion - especially the U.S. side - that forced decoupling is impossible." Wang said the current overall tariff level imposed by the U.S. on China was "still high" at 53.6%. Analysts have said that additional duties exceeding 35% will probably wipe out Chinese manufacturers' profit margins. "Both sides have come to understand that they need each other, as lots of the goods and services that we exchange are irreplaceable, or at least difficult to exchange in the short-term," Wang said. "China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one," he reiterated. ($1 = 7.1811 Chinese yuan renminbi)
