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Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Tunisia’s capital on Saturday to protest against the government, chanting that opposing the authorities should not be treated as a crime and demanding the release of imprisoned political activists.
The protest in Tunis followed the arrest of three opposition figures who were recently convicted on charges of conspiring against the state, prompting renewed criticism of President Kais Saied’s administration.
Tunisia, once hailed as the Arab Spring’s only democratic success story, has faced growing condemnation from rights organisations since President Saied consolidated power in 2021.
Human rights groups accuse his government of reversing key freedoms and steadily dismantling democratic institutions.
Scores of government critics have been detained or prosecuted in recent years, including under terrorism legislation and a controversial law introduced in 2022 that criminalises what authorities describe as the spread of “false information.”
During Saturday’s rally, demonstrators carried photographs of several detainees currently being held by the authorities.
Hager Chebbi, the daughter of prominent opposition figure Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, who was recently arrested, said the country had taken a dark turn since the president’s power grab.
She said civil liberties had been stripped away piece by piece and described Tunisia’s direction as a “descent into hell”.
Amnesty International condemned the latest arrests, saying the trial and detention of political opponents reflected what it described as an increasingly ruthless campaign to silence dissent.
Human Rights Watch also warned that, more than a decade after the uprising that toppled the country’s former regime, Tunisia appeared to be sliding back into authoritarian rule.
