The European Parliament will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution on what it described as authoritarian drift in Tunisia, while the Tunisian president warned against what he called conspirators against the security of society.
Al Jazeera obtained a copy of the draft resolution urging the Tunisian authorities to immediately release journalist Noureddine Boutar and all those arbitrarily detained – including journalists, judges, lawyers, political activists and trade unionists – and to respect freedom of expression.
The European Parliament draft resolution expresses grave concern over what it describes as President Kais Saied's "authoritarian drift" and calls for the immediate reinstatement of dismissed judges and an end to the use of military courts to try civilians.
The draft also regrets the authorities' refusal to comply with the administrative court's order to reinstate 49 judges.
The proposal stresses the need to suspend EU support programmes specific to the Ministries of Justice and Interior.
EU External Relations Commissioner Josep Borrell during a European Parliament session on Tunisia in 2021 (Reuters)
Political crisis
Emmanuel Morell, vice-chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Euro-Maghreb Relations, said Tunisia is going through a political crisis manifested by a significant deterioration of public freedoms and the rule of law.
Morrell expressed European parliamentarians' concern about the measures taken by Tunisia in the past few months.
Recently, Tunisian authorities have arrested several prominent dissidents and charged some with "conspiring against state security", which the opposition has denounced as an attempt to liquidate them.
Opposition forces accuse Saied of establishing an authoritarian autocracy, while Saied says those he describes as corrupt and criminals must be held accountable.
In October 2021, the European Parliament discussed the situation in Tunisia in the presence of EU External Relations Commissioner Josep Borrell, nearly three months after the Tunisian president announced exceptional measures that allow him to assume all powers.
"No tolerance for conspirators"
Meanwhile, Tunisian President Kais Saied said that "conspiring against the security of society is no less dangerous than conspiring against the security of the state," stressing that there is no tolerance for those who seek to harm it.
During a meeting between Saied and Interior Minister Tawfiq Sharafeddine, the two sides discussed "the issue of confronting monopoly and illegal speculation, and that there is no tolerance for those who seek in every way to starve the people to inflame social conditions."
As the month of Ramadan approaches, markets in Tunisia are witnessing a shortage of some basic foodstuffs and the absence of some of them in light of a difficult economic situation.