Tunisia: Protesters demand the release of opposition party head
A protest was held in Tunis calling for the release of Abir Moussi, an opponent to Tunisian President Kais Saied incarcerated for more than a year.
According to a report from Arab News on January 19th, protestors chanted “freedom for Abir and “we are opponents, not traitors” as between 1500 and 2000 people gathered in Central Tunis.
Moussi, a lawyer, is the head of the Free Destourian Party, founded by former Prime Minister under Ben Ali Hamed Karoui.
The party, which has ties with the pre-revolutionary regime, has been critical of the incumbent president Kais Saied and Islamist opposition party Ennahda.
Moussi was arrested in October 2023 in front of the presidential palace while attempting to lodge an appeal against Saied’s presidential decrees, according to her party. She has remained in custody since.
Moussi, that has on multiple occasions denounced Saied’s Coup, stands accused of “attempting to change the form of government, to incite citizen to take up arms and cause disorder, murder or pillage on Tunisian territory”, according to article 72 of the penal code.
While in prison, she sought to run for October 2024 presidential election without success, as Kais Saied won re-election by a landslide.
Since his 2019 election, former constitutionalist turned President Saied has rolled back the gains of the 2011 revolution by suspending the parliament sine die and ruling exclusively by decree.
Elected with more than 90% votes in a suffrage of exceptionally low turnout – where most of his competitors had landed in jail – he has shown no signs of loosening his grip on power.
The government’s crackdown on opposition through the judiciary has also targeted journalists and members of civil society.
Since February, more than twenty prominent figures of the opposition have been arrested, including Ennahda’s leader Rached Ghannouchi, and main opponent Jaouhar Ben Mbarek from the National Salvation Front coalition.
Arab News
