Tunisian protesters demand release of govt. opponents, call for national dialogue
Tunisians have taken to the streets in the capital Tunis demanding the release of opponents of President Kais Saied who have been arrested in recent months amid anti-government protests.
Demonstrators from opposition parties waved the country's flags and carried signs with the images of those arrested. Sunday's rally that was organized by the main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, reports said.
Speaking at the rally, Samir Ben Amor, an official with the Al-Joumhouri (Republican) party, called for a "national dialogue in order to draw up a roadmap to save Tunisia and return to the democratic path."
Among those currently languishing in government jails are more than 20 political opponents, including politicians, former ministers, businessmen, trade unionists and the owner of Tunisia's most popular radio station, Mosaique FM, who have been kept in detention since early February.
Government critics say the arrests were made as part of the government's efforts to consolidate power by means of clamping down on the opposition.
Local and international human rights groups, including the United Nations Human Rights Office, have strongly condemned the arrests and called for the immediate release of detainees.
Saied, who has consolidated his power since he froze parliament and sacked Tunisia's government in a controversial move in July 2021, has dubbed those arrested as "terrorists" who he alleges were involved in a "conspiracy against state security".
Saied insists his policies are meant to save the country from civil war but his opponents accuse him of bringing back autocratic rule in the North African country.
The country's economy is failing with an acute shortage of staple goods, and the government struggling to secure an international bailout.
In January, thousands of people protested in central Tunis against the Tunisian president, asking him to step down as they marked the 12th anniversary of the 2011 'Arab Spring' revolution that brought democracy to the country.
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