The head of the National Salvation Front in Tunisia, Ahmed Najib al-Shabi, said today, Tuesday, that the use of the military establishment in political life is harmful to the country and to the neutrality of the army and its high reputation.

Al-Shabi said, during a political symposium held in the capital, Tunis, under the title (Military Justice and Politics after July 25), "We were upset to see a tank of the Tunisian National Army closing the door of parliament and preventing the freely elected representatives of the people from continuing their duties."

On July 25, 2021, President Qais Saeed took exceptional measures, according to which he dissolved the government and parliament and seized most of the powers.

Al-Shabi added, in the symposium held by the Dignity Coalition, "We did not notice any interference of the military institution in political life after that incident, but the military judiciary is used daily to suppress the free people in Tunisia, and it is harmful to the Tunisian people, their security, their rights, and their freedoms."

He stressed that they will confront and resist this employment and demand the neutrality of the military and security establishment in political life.

For his part, former President Mohamed Moncef Marzouki said in a recorded speech broadcast during the symposium, "We are at war against the remnants of tyranny."

He pointed out that (President Qais) Said is a source of danger to Tunisians and must be removed from the Carthage Palace by organizing peaceful demonstrations until Tunisia regains its legitimacy.

Marzouki added that throughout his presidency, he did not prosecute anyone, neither before the civil or military courts, and the role of the president is not to involve the army in political issues.

There was no immediate comment from the Tunisian official authorities regarding these statements.

On January 20, a military court sentenced one year and two months in prison against the head of the Dignity Coalition bloc, Saif al-Din Makhlouf, and 11 months against lawyer Mahdi Zaqrouba with deprivation of practicing law, 7 months against Nidal Saudi, and 5 months against Maher Zaid and Muhammad al-Afas in the well-known case. Media "Airport Incident".

The incident dates back to March 15, 2021, when Carthage International Airport in Tunis, the capital, witnessed a fight between airport security personnel, lawyers and deputies in the Dignity Coalition, after the latter attempted to defend a female traveler who was prevented from leaving the country for security reasons.

In the context of an acute political crisis in Tunisia, parties and activists accuse Said's regime of using the judiciary to prosecute opponents of his exceptional measures, which Said denied more than once, stressing the independence of the judiciary.

Tunisia has been witnessing a deep political crisis since the Tunisian president announced, on July 25, 2021, the exceptional measures that allow him to acquire most of the powers.

Under these exceptional powers, Saeed dissolved the government and parliament, and transformed the parliamentary system into a presidential one. He also issued a new constitution last summer that gives the head of state wide powers in exchange for a parliament with almost non-existent powers.

The opposition accuses President Saeed of turning against the revolution and the 2014 constitution, but Saeed justifies the exceptional measures and his gathering of most powers by saving the state from collapse as a result of political conflicts and establishing a reform path, he said.