Tunisian opposition group “the National Salvation Front” organized a national march in the capital Tunis on Sunday, under the slogan “The mandate is over, where are the elections?”
Swarming the streets, the protestors demanded the departure of Tunisian President Kais Saied and the release of all political prisoners in Tunisian jails.
During this protest, demonstrators raised slogans reading “Down with Kais Saied”, “Down with the Coup”, “Freedom, Death to the police state”, and “No judiciary, No law, Honorable People in Prisons”.
Protesters also displayed images of political prisoners detained since February 2023 on charges of “conspiring against state security”. Some detainees had expressed their intention to run for office in the upcoming presidential elections in October, with Saied’s presidential term nearing its end.
The Tunisian authorities swiftly responded to the demonstrations by clamping down on some outspoken figures as lawyer Sonia Dahmani who was arrested inside Tunisia’s Bar Association. Dahmani had made comments earlier about the situation in Tunisia.
Security agents also arrested two journalists on Sunday for being critical of the country’s state of affairs.
According to the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, some 60 reporters, lawyers and opposition members are held behind bars.
President Saied took office in 2019, but shortly after (in 2021) he fired the prime minister and suspended parliament.