Tunisia: Judge Frees 2 Opponents of Pres. Saied

Facts

• Chaima Issa — a member of Tunisia's main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front — and former minister Lazhar Akremi were released by Tunisian authorities on Thursday after being arrested in February alongside 20 other opposition figures.¹
• Dozens of prisoners’ family members protested near the court in Tunis, holding up pictures of the detainees and calling for their release before the judge presiding over Issa decided to release Issa and Akremi. After her release from prison, Issa chanted, “Down with the coup. Down with Kais Saied."²
• Issa and Akremi, critics of Tunisian Pres. Kais Saied were both arrested on suspicion of plotting against state security. The appeal court judge rejected Issa and Akremi's legal teams' request to release other political opponents.²
• Opposition activists called the imprisonments a reflection of "a suffocating political crisis in Tunisia." European parliamentarians also expressed their opposition to any "unconditional agreement" between the EU and Tunisia, calling for the release of opposition figures.³
• Those arrested in February included several politicians, former ministers, businessmen, trade unionists, and the owner of Tunisia's most prominent radio station, Mosaique FM. Pres. Saied said those detained were involved in a "conspiracy against state security."⁴
• Saied also suspended parliament in July 2021 before holding a referendum this past summer that allowed him to change the constitution. He has continually defended his actions as necessary against a backdrop of civil unrest.²

Sources: ¹France 24 (a), ²Al Jazeera, ³The New Arab, and ⁴France 24 (b).

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Guardian. Though Saied said that he doesn't want to become an autocrat, his unscrupulous actions speak far louder. Using the growing pains of Tunisia's young democracy as a pretext, he has taken over the North African nation and is cracking down on dissent to guarantee his control over civil society. A national dialogue must be undertaken to save Tunisian democracy and align it with the norms of the international community.
• Narrative B, as provided by Al Mayadeen English. Tunisians are tired of the corruption and dysfunction brought by the country's so-called "post-Arab Spring parties," namely the Islamist Ennahda party. The country was on the brink of collapse before Saied dissolved parliament, and his actions were and continue to be necessary to maintain order and stability.