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Asharq Al-Awsat
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike
Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike. Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup, Reuters reported. Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir". "What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters. Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists. Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday. Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial". Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices. The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition. Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party. The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tunisians protest against president as jailed politicians begin hunger strike
By Tarek Amara Tunis (Reuters) - Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike. The rallies highlight the opposition's growing concerns about what it sees as Saied's muzzling of dissent and efforts to establish one-man rule, accusations he denies. Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup. Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir". "What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters. Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists. Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday. Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial". Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices. The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition. Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party. The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Tunisians protest against president as jailed politicians begin hunger strike
Tunis, April 9 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike. The rallies highlight the opposition's growing concerns about what it sees as Saied's muzzling of dissent and efforts to establish one-man rule, accusations he denies. Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup. Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir". "What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters. Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists. Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday. Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial". Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices. The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition. Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party. The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.
Reuters
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Tunisia begins trial of prominent opposition leaders on conspiracy charges
TUNIS, March 4, (Reuters) - Tunisian activists protested on Tuesday near a Tunis court where prominent figures face charges of conspiring against state security in a trial that the opposition says is fabricated and a symbol of President Kais Saied's authoritarian rule. Rights groups say the trial highlights Saied's full control over the judiciary since he dissolved the elected parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree before later dissolving the independent Supreme Judicial Council. Forty people, including high-profile politicians, businessmen and journalists, are being prosecuted in the case. More than 20 have fled abroad. Some politicians were arrested in 2023 in a crackdown on opposition ranks, including Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Jawahar Ben Mbrak, Abdelhamid Jlassi and Khyam Turki. The former presidential chief of staff, Nadia Akacha, and former head of intelligence Kamel Guizani, are among the accused. They live abroad. "We are facing the biggest judicial scandals. It is one of the darkest injustices in Tunisia's history," Bassam Trifi, the head of the Tunisian human rights league, said. Saied said in 2023 these politicians were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices. The opposition leaders arrested in the case accuse Saied of staging a coup in 2021 and say the case is fabricated to stifle the opposition and establish a one-man, repressive rule. They say they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting the fragmented opposition to face the democratic setback in the cradle of the Arab Spring uprisings. Chaima Issa, a senior official in the Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition, is among eight people appearing before the judge while they are free in the trial's first session. "This trial is unjust and a disgrace to the authorities. It is a purely political case that has included all political leaders," Issa told Reuters before the hearing. "Our charge is that we oppose the regime. I will continue the struggle at any cost," she added. Most of the leaders of political parties in Tunisia are in prison including Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Constitutional Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda party, two of Saied's most prominent opponents, remain in prison since 2023 in others cases. The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but he says that no one is above the law and what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.
