The Tunisian Ennahda movement expressed its solidarity with the politicians targeted by the courts because of their opposition to President Kais Saied, while human rights organizations criticized the use of a new law to combat communication and information crimes to prosecute opponents.

This comes after the head of the opposition National Salvation Front, Ahmed Najib al-Shabi, announced that he had been referred with 4 members of the front - namely: Reda Belhaj, Johar bin Mubarak, Shaimaa Issa, and former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki - to the judiciary on charges of assaulting public security and insulting the president. .

In addition to the members of the Five Front, the head of the "National Commission for the Defense of Liberties and Democracy" (independent), lawyer Ayachi Hammami, announced on Monday that he had been referred for investigation by the Minister of Justice on charges of "using communication systems to spread false rumors with the aim of attacking public security."

In a statement, the Ennahda Movement accused what it described as the coup authority of exchanging roles with the head of the Free Destourian Party, Abeer Moussa, to refer political opponents for investigation.

The movement considered targeting opponents of the policies of President Kais Saied as a systematic and dangerous escalation, especially as it passes through pressure on judges with the aim of intimidation and abuse of opponents, and through a speech threatening liquidation and attaching malicious charges of terrorism and money laundering, according to the movement's statement.

The movement affirmed its continuation of its struggle, alongside all the living forces, for the independence of the judiciary and its relentless pursuit of all those involved in targeting peaceful activists in order to restore the democratic path in the country.

The movement also renewed its demand for the release of Ali Al-Areedh, its vice president and former prime minister.


Human rights criticism

On Tuesday, human rights organizations in Tunisia criticized the use of a new law to combat communication and information crimes against dissidents, and demanded its withdrawal.

The criticism of the 35 organizations that signed a joint statement yesterday, Tuesday, comes after the coordinator of the defense committee for the dismissed judges, Ayachi Al-Hamami, announced that he had received a notification to investigate him using the same law, by a decision of President Saeed several months ago.

Last September, President Qais Said issued a decree related to crimes related to communication and information systems, imposing penalties on those who spread rumors and false news, in a move that aroused widespread concern among journalists and human rights activists.

Al-Ayashi Al-Hamami was referred to the investigation against the backdrop of his statement to the private "Shams FM" radio station regarding cases related to the dismissed judges, according to the organizations' statement.

The organizations - including the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights and the Syndicate of Journalists - explained that the charge was fabricated against Ayachi against the backdrop of his positions on the current political track, and demanded the withdrawal of Decree No. 54 because of the threat it poses to freedom of expression and public and individual freedoms.

In a related context, the Tunisian Judges Association called on all judges to continue to adhere to their independence and impartiality, and to exercise their judicial responsibilities in full integrity and without submitting to any pressure.

The Executive Office of the Association of Judges condemned what it considered submission by some judges in the Court of Appeal in the capital, Tunis, to the orders and instructions of the Minister of Justice to follow up human rights activists and activists.

And she considered the decision to refer the lawyer and coordinator of the defense committee for the sacked judges, Ayachi Al-Hamami, to the investigation, an attempt to cover up the information and evidence of the extent of what she described as the violations that occurred in the files of the sacked judges.

Since announcing the exceptional measures on July 25, 2021, Saeed has vowed to protect freedom of the press, but the frequency of cases against journalists and bloggers has sparked criticism and fears of hitting the main gain from the revolution that overthrew the authoritarian rule of the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.


Chebbi's remarks

And yesterday, Tuesday, the head of the opposition National Salvation Front in Tunisia, Ahmed Najib Al-Shabi, said that he would not respond to any judicial summons, and would not be a party to what he called a judicial play.

Al-Shabi added in a press conference that what the authority has done against him is a political game that will not deceive anyone, stressing that the judges who will investigate his case will not escape punishment, he said.

He pointed out that any person who disagrees with the opinion in Tunisia has become imprisoned, and that the people are being taken by dozens before the judiciary, as he put it.

The head of the Salvation Front called for a demonstration on Habib Bourguiba Street on January 14 to commemorate the revolution and guarantee the right to expression, stressing that the people will defend until their last breath freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of demonstration.


President's position

On the other hand, President Saeed said that no one is above the law, and that the state apparatus will not remain idle in front of the corrupt and in front of anyone who tries to harm it, as he put it.

Saeed stressed - in a meeting with Prime Minister Naglaa Boden - the importance of continuity in the work of public utilities, and addressing anyone who seeks to strike social peace, preserving rights, freedoms, and the right of citizens to security and a decent life, as he described it.

In a meeting with Moncef al-Kashoun, head of the Interim Supreme Council of the Judiciary, President Saeed stressed the need to purify the country from all those who seized its capabilities and seek to infiltrate its institutions, as he put it.

Saeed accused these (opposition) parties of allying with any party to reach their goals, with their belief that they are above any accountability or punishment.

The president had said a few days ago that it was necessary to take action against those who defame the "symbols of the state", considering this an attack on state security.

Since July 25, 2021, Tunisia has been witnessing a political crisis, when Saeed began imposing exceptional measures, including the dissolution of the Judicial Council and Parliament, the issuance of legislation by presidential orders, the adoption of a new constitution through a referendum in July 2022, and the holding of early legislative elections in December of the year. same.

Tunisian forces see these measures as a "consecration of absolute individual rule," while other forces consider them a "correction of the course of the 2011 revolution" that overthrew the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1987-2011).

As for Saeed, who began a 5-year presidential term in 2019, he said that his measures are "necessary and legal" to save the state from "total collapse."