More than 100 academics call for Ghannouchi’s release in Tunisia
1 year, 7 months ago

More than 100 academics call for Ghannouchi’s release in Tunisia

Al Jazeera  

In an open letter, 150 signatories call for the release of opposition leader Ghannouchi, saying his arrest is part of a ‘witch hunt’. Dozens of academics and public figures have signed an open letter calling for the release of jailed Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi, who was arrested late last month, pending a trial. The 150 signatories in Wednesday’s open letter said Ghannouchi was arrested for a public statement in which he “criticised Tunisian President Kais Saied’s coup against democracy”. “His consensus-building approach and consistent calls for dialogue and unity across political, intellectual and ideological lines are needed in Tunisia, the wider region and beyond more than ever.” Saied has been conducting a continuing crackdown against the country’s opposition since he suspended parliament. “We call on the Tunisian authorities to release all political prisoners and to restore freedoms and human rights in Tunisia.” In October 2011, Ennahdha emerged as the largest party in the country’s first parliamentary elections since the removal of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, winning 37 percent of the vote.

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History of this topic

Tunisia’s electoral authority approves just 2 candidates to challenge Saied. 1 has been detained
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Tunisia’s electoral authority approves just 2 candidates to challenge Saied. 1 has been detained

Associated Press  

TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia’s electoral authority on Monday definitively approved just two candidates to challenge President Kais Saied in elections next month in the struggling North African country — and one of them was promptly arrested. Also Monday, Tunisia’s electoral authority confirmed that only incumbent Saied, Zammel, who leads a small pro-business party, and Zouhair Maghzaoui, a former left-wing pan-Arabist …

Tunisian opposition figure Moussi is sentenced to prison amid crackdown ahead of October election
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Tunisian opposition figure Moussi is sentenced to prison amid crackdown ahead of October election

Associated Press  

TUNIS, Tunisia — A potential presidential candidate in Tunisia has been sentenced to two years in prison, marking another setback to the country’s fledgling opposition challenging President Kais Saied as he seeks a new term. Following a complaint by the North African nation’s election authority, she was found guilty of violating a controversial anti-fake news decree outlawing spreading information that …

Tunisian President Kais Saied to seek reelection in October after tumultuous first term
5 months ago

Tunisian President Kais Saied to seek reelection in October after tumultuous first term

Associated Press  

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied said Friday that he will run for a second term, making a long-expected announcement while many of his potential opponents languish in prison on charges their attorneys have described as politicized. Saied, a 66-year-old former law professor, rose to power in 2019, capitalizing on anger against politicians who failed to fulfill the promises of the revolution …

Tunisia’s opposition says politically motivated arrests and gag orders are chilling election efforts
5 months, 1 week ago

Tunisia’s opposition says politically motivated arrests and gag orders are chilling election efforts

Associated Press  

TUNIS, Tunisia — Leading opposition parties in Tunisia asserted Wednesday that politically motivated arrests and gag orders are creating impossible conditions for holding democratic elections later this year. Leaders of Ennahda and other parties in the Front described recent arrests and limitations on those planning to challenge Saied a “suffocation in terms of freedoms, human rights and basic rights for …

Tunisia opposition leader Lotfi Mraihi arrested
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Tunisia opposition leader Lotfi Mraihi arrested

Al Jazeera  

Mraihi joins a growing list of President Saied’s political opponents who are in jail or facing prosecution. The head of Tunisia’s Republican Union Party, Lotfi Mraihi, who has announced his intention to run in a presidential election set for October, has been arrested on suspicion of money laundering. A Tunis court spokesman said earlier this week that Mraihi, one of …

2 journalists in detention in Tunisia as authorities launch wave of arrests against critics
7 months, 1 week ago

2 journalists in detention in Tunisia as authorities launch wave of arrests against critics

Associated Press  

TUNIS, Tunisia — Two journalists were kept under detention in Tunisia on Wednesday, following a raft of arrests targeting government critics including lawyers and the press that has drawn concern from the country’s international allies. Khaled Drareni, Reporters Without Borders’ North Africa representative, called the arrests “a frontal attack on press freedom.” In a statement he called for “an end …

International support for Tunisia’s jailed opposition leader Ghannouchi
8 months, 1 week ago

International support for Tunisia’s jailed opposition leader Ghannouchi

Al Jazeera  

Newly formed International Committee for Solidarity with Rached Ghannouchi says the Ennahdha party leader is ‘oldest prisoner of conscience in the Arab world’. Marking the first anniversary of the arrest of Tunisia’s prominent opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi, an international committee has formed to raise awareness of the imprisonment of the 82-year-old, now the “oldest prisoner of conscience in the Arab …

Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi sentenced to three years
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi sentenced to three years

Al Jazeera  

Ghannouchi’s Ennahda Party is accused of receiving foreign funds as President Kais Saied continues crackdown on opposition. A Tunisian court has sentenced opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi to three years in prison over accusations that his Ennahda Party received foreign contributions, official news agency Tunis Afrique Press reported, amid an escalating crackdown on dissent in the North African country. “The sentencing …

Families of imprisoned Tunisian dissidents turn to the International Criminal Court seeking justice
1 year, 2 months ago

Families of imprisoned Tunisian dissidents turn to the International Criminal Court seeking justice

Associated Press  

TUNIS, Tunisia — Family members of seven imprisoned Tunisian opposition figures took their quest for justice on Thursday to the International Criminal Court, announcing plans to ask the tribunal to investigate claims of political persecution and human rights violations by President Kais Saied’s administration. However, Saied’s government has cracked down on opponents and jailed dissidents, including opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi …

2 top officials of Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party arrested while its leader languishes in jail
1 year, 3 months ago

2 top officials of Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party arrested while its leader languishes in jail

Associated Press  

TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisian officials detained a former prime minister for questioning then freed him hours later early Wednesday, but jailed two top officials in the moderate Islamist Ennahdha party whose leader has been imprisoned, the official news agency said. According to Ennahdha, Ounissi, who is standing in for jailed party leader Rached Ghannouchi, was stopped Tuesday night by security …

Tunisia protest marks two years since president’s power grab
1 year, 5 months ago

Tunisia protest marks two years since president’s power grab

Al Jazeera  

Opposition has kept up its demonstrations against what it calls a ‘coup’ against Tunisia’s democracy. About 300 protesters have rallied in Tunis to mark the second anniversary of President Kais Saied’s adoption of sweeping powers and to demand the release of 20 detained opposition figures. The opposition has kept up its protests against Saied despite the arrest in February of …

Tunisia’s moderate Islamist leader sentenced in absentia to year in prison
1 year, 7 months ago

Tunisia’s moderate Islamist leader sentenced in absentia to year in prison

Associated Press  

TUNIS, Tunisia — A court has sentenced moderate Tunisian Islamist leader Rached Ghannouchi to a year in prison for allegedly referring to police officers as tyrants in what his party said Tuesday amounted to a sham trial. Ghannouchi, 81, founder of the Ennahdha party, has refused to be removed from his place of detention for questioning or to attend Monday’s …

Tunisia’s Ghannouchi sentenced to a year in prison: Lawyer
1 year, 7 months ago

Tunisia’s Ghannouchi sentenced to a year in prison: Lawyer

Al Jazeera  

Opposition leader Ghannouchi was arrested in April, and sentenced after being charged with incitement, as crackdown on opposition continues. The Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi has been sentenced in absentia to a year in prison, his lawyer told the Reuters news agency. Ghannouchi, who was the speaker of the Tunisian parliament before it was suspended by the country’s President Kais …

Who are some of the key opposition figures targeted in Tunisia?
1 year, 7 months ago

Who are some of the key opposition figures targeted in Tunisia?

Al Jazeera  

Thirty opposition figures deemed critical of President Kais Saied have been arrested in recent months, according to Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch on Thursday condemned the arrests of Ennahdha members, warning that the government was “moving to neutralize the country’s largest political party”. Seventeen current or former Ennahdha members have been arrested since December, bringing the total number of …

Fears Ghannouchi arrest will lead to more crackdowns in Tunisia
1 year, 8 months ago

Fears Ghannouchi arrest will lead to more crackdowns in Tunisia

Al Jazeera  

Opposition worried what President Kais Saied’s next step will be with a number of opposition figures in prison. “They insisted that he can be held for 48 hours without lawyers present,” Yusra Ghannouchi said, detailing her father’s initial interrogation on Monday. “My father stated that one of the main successes of the National Salvation Front is to go beyond political …

Who is Ghannouchi, the Ennahdha party leader arrested in Tunisia?
1 year, 8 months ago

Who is Ghannouchi, the Ennahdha party leader arrested in Tunisia?

Al Jazeera  

Rached Ghannouchi is the highest-profile figure to be arrested in Tunisia as President Saied tightens his grip on power. A Tunisian judge has ordered the imprisonment pending trial of Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of Tunisia’s main opposition party and an ardent critic of President Kais Saied, on charges of incitement against state authorities. Ennahdha, a self-styled “Muslim democrat” party with …

Arrests of Tunisia opposition leaders draw global condemnation
1 year, 8 months ago

Arrests of Tunisia opposition leaders draw global condemnation

Al Jazeera  

The US says the arrests ‘represent a troubling escalation by the Tunisian government against perceived opponents’. In a statement on Wednesday, the US government said the arrest on Monday of former Speaker of Parliament Ghannouchi and the closure of the Ennahdha party headquarters “are fundamentally at odds with the principles Tunisians adopted in a constitution,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant …

Tunisian police detain opposition leader, raid Ennahda party HQ
1 year, 8 months ago

Tunisian police detain opposition leader, raid Ennahda party HQ

Al Jazeera  

Rached Ghannouchi has emerged as one of the biggest critics of President Kais Saied since the leader shut down parliament. Tunisian police have detained opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and raided the headquarters of his Ennahda party, party officials said. Police raided Ghannouchi’s house on Monday evening, carrying out a search before taking him to what party officials called an “unknown …

Tunisian Islamist leader Ghannouchi detained amid tensions
1 year, 8 months ago

Tunisian Islamist leader Ghannouchi detained amid tensions

Associated Press  

TUNIS, Tunisia — Influential Tunisian Islamist leader Rached Ghannouchi was detained Monday after a police search, according to his lawyer, in a move denounced by his supporters as a stepped-up effort by the president to quash Tunisia’s opposition. Other Tunisian media reported that Ghannouchi was to be questioned over a video circulating online in which he purportedly says that the …

Tunisia police arrest prominent figures as crackdown continues
1 year, 10 months ago

Tunisia police arrest prominent figures as crackdown continues

Al Jazeera  

The arrests come amid a continuing crackdown on critics of President Kais Saied. Tunisian police arrested two prominent opposition leaders and surrounded the house of another critic of President Kais Saied, according to their relatives and lawyers. Chaima Aissa, leader of the National Salvation Front, and opposition figure Issam Chebbi were arrested by police on Wednesday. Issam Chebbi is the …

Wave of raids, arrests target government critics in Tunisia
1 year, 10 months ago

Wave of raids, arrests target government critics in Tunisia

Al Jazeera  

The crackdown on opponents of President Saied has sparked international criticism and fears of a return to autocracy. Former diplomat William Lawrence, a professor at the American University in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera: “Ltaief likes to call himself Tunisia’s de facto vice president after 1989 has been described as a power broker or kingmaker, he has that skill of …

Tunisia arrests more prominent critics of President Saied
1 year, 10 months ago

Tunisia arrests more prominent critics of President Saied

Al Jazeera  

Detentions come amid a wave of arrests targeting politicians and other critics of the government. Tunisian police have arrested two more prominent opponents of President Kais Saied and the head of a radio station that has broadcast criticism of the president. Police raided the house of Noureddine Bhiri, a senior official in the biggest opposition party Ennahdha and a prominent …

Tunisia: Crisis deepens as opp’n leaders summoned for questioning
2 years, 8 months ago

Tunisia: Crisis deepens as opp’n leaders summoned for questioning

Al Jazeera  

Parliamentary speaker and Ennahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi among those questioned by anti-terrorism police over a parliament session held online. Tunisian anti-terrorism police summoned the country’s main opposition figure for questioning on Friday as a political crisis deepens in the wake of President Kais Saied’s move to dissolve parliament and impose one-man rule. Strongest opposition Ennahdha and the Free Constitutional Party, …

Profile: Kais Saied, Tunisia’s president accused of ‘coup’
3 years, 4 months ago

Profile: Kais Saied, Tunisia’s president accused of ‘coup’

Al Jazeera  

President accused of attack on Tunisian democracy after sacking the country’s prime minister and suspending parliament. Tunisia’s president described his election victory in 2019 as “like a new revolution” – and on Sunday night he brought huge crowds of supporters onto the streets by sacking the government and freezing parliament in a move his foes called a ‘coup’. While the …

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