Tunisia’s detention of six political opposition figures over peaceful political activism points to suppression of citizens’ right to freedom of expression and a crackdown on political dissent.
Development Diaries reports that the opposition activists and their lawyers have been in detention for nearly eight months despite unproven allegations of ‘conspiracy against state security’.
The detainees include Jaouhar Mbarek, Khayam Turki, Abdelhamid Jlassi, Issam Chebbi, Ghazi Chaouachi and Ridha Bel Hadj.
They were all held under an initial pre-trial detention order of six months which was renewed by the investigative judge after it expired on 22 August.
Aside from this, the government also brought criminal charges against two of the detainees’ lawyers on 02 October, in two separate legal cases.
The Tunisian government in recent years has used a variety of repressive measures against critics, detractors, and political figures, according to a 2022 Human Rights Watch report.
Even though Tunisian law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, security forces do not always observe these provisions.
The Tunisian government has continued to conduct political witch-hunts, picking up opposition figures and abusing the legal system to stifle the right to free speech and repress political criticism.
Development Diaries calls on the Tunisian government to release the six detainees and quickly drop the baseless charges and accusations against them.
Photo source: Anadolu Agency