Amnesty International Tunisia expressed ‘deep concern at the recent wave of arrests targeting opponents of President Kais Saied.
“We are concerned about the use of the legal arsenal to silence critics, in particular Decree Law No. 2022-54 on the fight against offences related to information and communication systems,” the organisation said in a statement on Tuesday.
The decree poses a threat to freedom of expression and the right to privacy, it said, also citing concerns about the use of Organic Law No. 2015-26 on the fight against terrorism and the repression of money laundering, as well as other articles of the penal code.
Amnesty International called on the Tunisian authorities to “cease all legal action against activists for exercising their fundamental human rights, in particular their right to express their views freely and peacefully”.
It stressed the need to “stop bringing open critics of the government before military courts and insisted on the need to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the source said.
Detention warrants were recently issued against Kamel Letaief, a businessman, Khayem Turki, a political activist, Abdelhamid Jelassi, a former leader of the Ennahdha movement, and Issam Chebbi, secretary general of the Al Jomhouri party.
They are being tried on suspicion of conspiracy against the internal security of the state.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse