Two opposition politicians detained during the recent spate of arrests by the Tunisian government led by President Kais Saied were granted freedom by a judge on Thursday, July 13. Chaima Issa and Lazhar Akremi were reportedly among the around 20 opposition figures, business leaders, and others who were arrested during the massive crackdown on the opposition by the government in February this year. They were accused of “conspiring against state security” and the president even called them “terrorists” and “traitors.” The crackdown received widespread criticism with multiple appeals for their unconditional and immediate release.
Chaima Issa is a leader of the National Salvation Front, a coalition of several opposition political parties formed in the aftermath of the July 2021 presidential “coup” in the country. Lazhar Akremi is a lawyer who served as a minister in the Tunisian government after the 2011 revolution which overthrew former leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The judge agreed to release the two but rejected the defense’s request for the release of other leaders still in detention.
Before and after the hearing, hundreds of protesters gathered around the court and demanded the release of all those detained. The families of the detained were also present. After her release, Issa joined the protesters in raising slogans saying “down with the coup” and “down with Kais Saied.” She told news outlets that “the injustice against the rest of the prisoners must end … Imprisoning the dissidents will not solve Tunisia’s problems.”
Human rights groups and EU representatives had also asked for the leaders’ release. On Wednesday, a number of Members of the European Parliament called on the Tunisian authorities to “release arbitrarily imprisoned opponents, defend the rights of Tunisian citizens and support their struggle for democracy.”
Several Tunisian human rights groups and prominent civil society and cultural figures also released a joint statement on Wednesday calling for the leaders’ immediate release. They urged the judiciary to assume its constitutional role in “protecting rights and freedoms, respecting evidence of innocence, and enabling them to have fair trials” and asked the government to stop its interference in the judicial process and abstain from divisive and inflammatory rhetoric which can cause discord in society and prolong the ongoing political crisis. Among the signatories to the statement were the Tunisian Human Rights League, Al-Bawsala Association, Resilience Coalition, renowned philosopher and anthropologist Youssef Siddiq, and former head of the election commission Kamal Jendoubi.
