Tunisia.. Extending the state of emergency for one month, and Ennahda calls for the release of detainees and calls for the president to apologize for the violence

Tunisian President Kais Saied decided to extend the state of emergency in the country for an additional month, while the Ennahda movement called on the country's authorities to release all detainees from the demonstrations.

According to a decision published by the Tunisian Official Gazette, “Al-Raed Al-Omali” in its Tuesday issue, the state of emergency has been extended from January 20 to February 18.

President Saeed had extended the emergency in his country for the first time for a period of 6 months, starting from December 26, 2020 until June 23, 2021.

On June 24, the president extended the state of emergency in the country for one month until July 23 of the same year, and on the 24th of the same month, Saeed extended the state of emergency in the country for 6 months until July 19.

For its part, the Ennahda movement demanded the release of all those arrested in connection with the demonstrations last Friday.

This came in a statement by Al-Nahda, in which it "strongly condemned the severe violent assault on a number of detainees," calling on human rights organizations and the Authority for the Prevention of Torture to "support the victims of police repression on January 14, 2022."

Meanwhile, Tunisian human rights and trade union organizations called on President Kais Saied to apologize for the violence that was practiced against citizens during the demonstrations commemorating the revolution, as they described it.

It also called for the release of those arrested on the sidelines of those demonstrations, and the Syndicate of Journalists considered that the use of violence during these demonstrations was a political decision.

And last Friday, political parties and the "Citizens Against the Coup" initiative organized protests to reject the actions of President Kais Saied, coinciding with the anniversary of the Tunisian revolution (January 14, 2011).

In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Interior said that the security forces "existed the utmost restraint and gradually used water to disperse the demonstrators who deliberately stormed the barriers and attacked the security forces."

Tunisia has been experiencing a political crisis since last July 25, when President Said imposed exceptional measures, including freezing the powers of Parliament, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, dismissing the prime minister, and appointing new ones.