Tunisia uses “repressive” laws to quell criticism of Saied

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President Kais Saied has been severely criticized by his opponents for toppling the government, suspending parliament and later deciding to rule by decree.

Critics of Saied include exiled ex-president Moncef Marzouki, who was sentenced in absentia this week to four years in prison. (AFP Archives)

Human Rights Watch has warned that Tunisian authorities are using “repressive” laws to quell criticism of President Kais Saied.

“The Tunisian authorities are prosecuting citizens in military and civilian courts and imprisoning them for publicly criticizing (Saied) and other officials,” he said Thursday.

“With repressive laws enacted before the Tunisian revolution, prosecutors are targeting those who criticize Saied.”

Saied on July 25 dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and lifted MPs’ immunity, and then governed by decree.

Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings a decade ago, and Saied’s actions came after years of political turmoil and an economic slump exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

While some Tunisians hailed his initiatives against a corrupt political system, others called it a coup and warned against a return to authoritarianism.

READ MORE: Tunisian opposition denounces extension of Parliament freeze by Saied

“Danger to the freedom of the press”

Critics of Saied include exiled ex-president Moncef Marzouki, who was sentenced in absentia this week to four years in prison.

Local media said Marzouki was found guilty of “undermining state security from abroad” and causing “diplomatic prejudice”.

A Tunisian judge issued an arrest warrant for Marzouki in November, two weeks after Saied canceled his diplomatic passport and ordered the courts to investigate him.

“To publicly challenge the president and his seizure of special powers is to risk ending up in court,” said Eric Goldstein of HRW.

“Silencing critics is doubly dangerous at a time when the president is busy concentrating so much power in his own hands.”

Politicians and activists have been tried in military courts for publicly criticizing Saied.

Earlier this month, the North African country’s journalists’ union warned of “imminent danger to freedom of the press, media and expression” since July 25.

He criticized what he described as “a media lockdown and a flagrant violation of journalists’ right to access information.”

READ MORE: Tunisia announces referendum on political reforms, elections

Source: AFP

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