Tunisia moving towards ‘dictatorship’ amid arrests of critics: Ennahda

By Yosra Ounas

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – Tunisia is moving towards “dictatorship” amid a spate of arrests of opposition figures, the country’s Ennahda movement warned on Saturday.

On Friday, Tunisian police arrested prominent opposition figure Ghazi Chaouachi, in the latest arrests of critics of Tunisian President Kais Saied.

"The arrests and harassment of the opposition and its figures under trumped-up charges will not solve the people's problems,” Ennahda said in a statement.

“Rather, these practices will aggravate the country's crisis and will lead to the return of dictatorship, torture and systematic repression of the people," it added.

There was no comment from the Tunisian authorities on Ennahda’s statement.

At least 12 critics of the Tunisian president were arrested by security forces in recent days amid a deep political crisis in the North African country.

Saied has accused the detainees of “conspiring against state security”, blaming them for the price hikes of basic commodities.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that aggravated the country's economy since 2021, when Saied ousted the government and dissolved parliament.

Since then, Saied held a referendum to draft a new Constitution last July and parliamentary elections last December.

While Saied insists that his measures were meant to "save" the country, critics have accused the Tunisian leader of orchestrating a coup.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar