Tunisians disobey prohibition on protests to call for release of Saied criticism

 

In spite of a ban on demonstrations, hundreds of Tunisians demonstrated on Sunday and demanded the release of more than 20 well-known presidential opponents who had just been detained.

In 2021, President Kais Saied ousted the cabinet, shuttered the legislature, and forced significant political system changes in the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring upheavals.

More than 20 political figures, including members of the National Salvation Front (NSF), the largest opposition coalition, and its biggest member, the Islamist-leaning Ennahdha party, have been detained in the country of North Africa in recent weeks.

The marchers, most of whom were NSF supporters, screamed, "Freedom for the inmates," and many of them waved Tunisian flags and images of captives, according to AFP journalists.

Denouncing Saied's power grab as a "coup," the demonstrators ignored a ban on protests enforced by Tunis authorities.

Reporters stated that at first, a few dozen people gathered beside a significant bus and tramway station in central Tunis before attacking police barricades and marching towards Habib Bourguiba Avenue, where the throng quickly grew to more than 500.

The march is forbidden, the policeman pleaded over the loudspeaker, directing protesters away from the famous road, the scene of numerous demonstrations, and towards the Al Joumhouri party's offices a few kilometres away.

One of the Saied opponents who was arrested during the crackdown that began in February is Issam Chebbi, the leader of the Al Joumhouri party.

The NSF's leader, his brother Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, addressed the audience and accused the arrests of being "arbitrary."

We are defending a national cause, and we won't give up until democracy and institutions are restored, said 78-year-old protester Ahmed Nejib Chebbi.

Senior opposition activists Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Kamel Eltaief, the owner of Tunisia's most-listened-to radio station, Mosaique FM, Noureddine Boutar, and union officials are among the other inmates.

Ezzedine Hazgui, the father of Mbarek who was imprisoned during the regime of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was present at the gathering and criticised Saied in remarks to AFP.

Saied has charged those detained with "terrorism," causing ongoing food shortages, and conspiring against the government.

Amnesty International, a rights organisation, has described the arrests as a "politically motivated witch hunt."

The NSF had called for the protest, which took place a day after more than 3,000 people attended a march in Tunisia that was sponsored by the potent UGTT labour union.