According to Human Rights Watch, 30 opposition members have been arrested in recent months for criticizing President Kais Saied.
Tunisia has been accused of using the “judiciary as a means of repression” as its crackdown on the opposition has drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday condemned the arrests of Ennahdha members and warned that the government wants to “neutralize the country’s largest political party”.
Seventeen current or former Ennahdha members have been arrested since December, bringing the total number of arrests of opposition members considered critical of President Kais Saied to 30, according to HRW.
Saied, who was supported by Ennahdha when he became president in 2019, dissolved the democratically elected parliament in July 2021 and has since seized more powers, changing the country’s constitution. His opponents decry his moves as “a coup”.
The families of the political prisoners have campaigned on their behalf, most recently calling on the European Union to sanction several government officials.
Amnesty International also condemned increasing repression in Tunisia this week, adding four people had been added to at least 17 dissidents under investigation “on baseless ‘conspiracy’ charges”. According to Amnesty, twelve people have been arrested in the investigation.
Targets include members of the opposition party, political activists and lawyers, Amnesty said.
“Tunisian authorities have already done enough damage to the right to freedom of expression and the rule of law by arbitrarily detaining dissidents on baseless charges,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director. , in a statement Tuesday. .
“They urgently need to close this investigation, immediately release anyone detained in connection with it, and end their instrumentalization of the judiciary as a means of repression,” she said.
As Saeid’s authoritarian shift deepens, here’s a list of some of the prominent opposition figures targeted in recent months and the charges against them:
Rachel Ghannouchi
- Head of the Ennahdha Party
- Arrested on April 17 for “incendiary statements”, authorities said, supposedly in a video warning of the potential for civil war if Tunisia’s various political tendencies, including political Islam and leftists, were excluded from the political fabric of Tunisia
- Charged with conspiracy against state security
- Prison on remand
- Has been questioned in connection with 19 investigations in the past 18 months, according to HRW
Ali Laarayedh
- Vice President of Ennahdha and former Prime Minister
- Faces prosecution for failing to adequately combat hardline groups and violence during his tenure from 2011 to 2014, according to HRW
- Detained since December without being brought before a judge
Nourredine Bhiri
- A deputy head of the Ennahdha Party and former Justice Minister
- Arrested Feb. 13 for trying to “change the nature of the state,” his lawyer Amine Bouker told HRW
- The charge stems from a Facebook post calling on Tunisians to demonstrate against Saied on January 14, the anniversary of the ouster of former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. His lawyers said he did not write the post, according to HRW.
Ferjani said
- An Ennahdha leader who was in parliament before it was dissolved by Saied
- Arrested Feb. 27 in an investigation into the digital content production company Instalingo, according to HRW
- The prosecutor has charged Instalingo with inciting violence and defaming Saied, according to HRW.
- His family and lawyer have informed HRW that he is not affiliated with the company.
Mohamed Mzoughi
- Ennahdha’s head of public relations
- Arrested March 9 on charges including conspiracy against state security and “terrorism”-related charges for an alleged role in running social media pages critical of Saied’s regime, according to HRW
Mohamed Saleh Bouallagui
- Ennahdha’s general secretary
- Arrested March 10 on charges including conspiracy against state security and “terrorism”-related charges for an alleged role in running social media pages critical of Saied’s regime, the same charges as Mzoughi, according to HRW
Mohammed Ben Salem
- A former Ennahdha leader and former minister of agriculture
- Arrested March 3 and charged with “forming an organization dedicated to preparing and committing the crime of illegally leaving Tunisian territory” and “holding sums of money in foreign currency,” according to HRW
- Has lost his ability to walk and has suffered two strokes since his arrest, his family and lawyer told HRW
Ayachi Hammami
- According to Amnesty, a lawyer representing opposition leaders is under investigation in the conspiracy case against 17 people
- Is now one of the suspects in that case
- Also under investigation under a cybercrime law for publicly criticizing authorities, Amnesty said
Bochra Belhaj Hamida
- A feminist lawyer and co-founder and former president of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women
- Former politician in the Assembly of Representatives, the legislative branch of the government of Tunisia
- Among the 17 suspects in the criminal conspiracy investigation
Nejib Chebbi
- Leader of the Tunisian National Salvation Front, an opposition alliance co-founded by Ennahdha
- Has been organizing regular protests against Saied for months
- Among the 17 suspects in the criminal conspiracy investigation
- Also under investigation since January along with other activists accused of assaulting public security officers and insulting the president