Opposition to Tunisia’s president takes to the streets
Opposition to Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has taken to the streets to protest the current trials taking place in the country, with strong criticism coming as the protesters believe that the President is using his judiciary and police to suppress critics.
According to MEMO, the protest took place on the 1st of May and saw supporters of the president also take to the streets in a counter rally.
This anti-Saied demonstration is the second one to take place within a week, reflecting the increasing tensions in the country as critics fear the country is marching towards a one-man rule.
The tensions have a much more complicated situation in Tunis, as whilst the international community, such as France, has condemned the actions of Saied, he still has administrative supporters in the country.
In the capital, chants by protesters were “The people want the fall of the regime” whilst on the same street of Habib Bourguiba Avenue, Saied’s supporters chanted in his support “No to foreign interference” and “The people want Saied again”.
The key to these protests is the arrests and trials of lawyers, politicians and journalists who had criticised Saied. Critics have interpreted these trials as a direct attack on civic liberty and press freedoms within the country.
The trials currently involve 40 defendants, with some in prison for the last two years for what the government has called “conspiring against the state.”
On the 21st of April strong critic of Saied and prominent lawyer Ahmed Souab was arrested for comments he made on the judiciary.
These actions have not gone unnoticed by the wider international community. France has condemned the trials claiming them to be “unfair” whilst Volker Turk, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights has taken a strong stance against them.
“The process was marred by violations of fair trial and due process rights, raising serious concerns about political motivations.”
It is clear that the international community sees these actions as “unfair” and unacceptable in a society with civic liberty, yet Tunisia has responded by calling the interference by foreign parties “unacceptable.”
With clear opposition to Tunisia’s president taking place through street protests, and government supporters mobilising in counter-demonstrations, critics fear for the future of civil freedoms in the country.
MEMO, Amnesty International, Maghrebi.org
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