Protests took place in the Tunisian capital on Sunday in support of President Kais Saied, concurrently with an unprecedented nationwide strike and protests initiated by lawyers. These events followed the violent arrest of professional lawyer Sonia Dahmani. Around a hundred ralliers congregated at the Municipal Theatre of Tunis, a popular location for protests, displaying banners decrying foreign meddling in the country’s internal matters, affirming Tunisia’s autonomy and sovereignty, and addressing the issue of migrant presence in the nation. Notably, members of the local council and deputies of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People added their support to the protests.
Organized by the Tunisia Lawyers Council, the lawyers’ strike was orchestrated as a reaction to the raid on the Bar Association offices in Tunis. The raid was executed by security forces wearing masks, leading to the arrest of Dahmani on charges of distributing erroneous information and disturbing public order. The arrest was grounded on her comments on the migrant crisis during a local TV program appearance. Her arrest was sanctioned under Decree 54, a controversial national legislation aimed at dealing with the spread of misrepresentation and rumors on the internet.
International condemnation was voiced following Dahmani’s arrest, notably from Amnesty International, which condemned the unlawful detention of the lawyer. In addition, the French authorities also expressed concerns over the arrest of Dahmani and others, emphasizing the importance of upholding freedom of assembly, expression, and judicial independence, as enshrined in the Tunisian Constitution and UN conventions.
The European Union has requested clarifications from the Tunisian authorities regarding these arrests, with US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel stating engagement with the Tunisian Government to support human rights and freedom of expression. Patel went on to interpret these arrests as inconsistent with the universal rights explicitly protected by the Tunisian constitution.
In response to these developments, President Saied condemned foreign interference in Tunisia’s internal affairs and voiced criticism towards Western countries’ handling of pro-Palestinian protests.
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