Hundreds of Tunisians gathered on Sunday to defy a ban on protests, demanding the release of more than 20 prominent opposition figures who have been arrested in recent weeks.
President Kais Saied dismissed the government and froze the parliament in 2021 power grab and imposed sweeping changes to the political system of the only democracy that has emerged from the Arab Spring uprisings.
More than 20 political figures have been detained in the North African country in recent weeks, including members of the main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front (NSF) and its main component, the Islamist-leaning Ennahdha party.
“Freedom for the prisoners,” said the demonstrators, mostly NSF supporters, with many Tunisian flags and pictures of prisoners, an AFP reporter said.
Blaming Saied’s rise to power as a “coup”, protesters defied a ban on demonstrations imposed by Tunis authorities.
At first, dozens gathered at the main bus and tram stations in central Tunis before charging through police barricades and then advancing to Habib Bourguiba Avenue, where the crowd swelled to more than 500, journalists said.
Police used loudspeakers to urge protesters to leave the well-maintained road – the site of repeated protests – and head towards the Al Joumhouri party headquarters a few kilometers away, saying: “Please, the march is prohibited”.
Issam Chebbi, head of the Al Joumhouri party, is one of Saied’s opponents who have been arrested in a crackdown launched in February.
His brother Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, who heads the NSF, addressed the crowd and accused the arrests of being “arbitrary”.
Protester Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, 78, said: “We are defending the national cause and we will not stop until democracy and institutions return.”
Other detainees include senior opposition figure Jawhar Ben Mbarek, businessman Kamel Eltaief, head of Tunisia’s most popular radio station Mosaique FM, Noureddine Boutar, as well as union officials.