The opposition Salvation Front announced on Monday the entry into an open sit-in until the Tunisian judiciary reveals the charges against its imprisoned members.
This came at a press conference held by the head of the Front Ahmed Najib Chebbi at the headquarters of the Tunisia-Irada party in the capital Tunis.
Since February 11, a campaign of arrests has begun in Tunisia that included politicians, media professionals, activists, judges and businessmen, including members of the National Salvation Front: Chaimaa Issa, Jawhar Ben Mubarak and Reda Belhaj.
"The National Salvation Front decided to launch an open sit-in at this headquarters in order to... "For a Tunis court spokesperson to come out and explain to the public what criminal acts of material acts have led to the arrest of political figures."
We won't wait
"We will not wait 14 months for a decision on the file, and the detainees are deprived of their families and their money is frozen and inalienable," Chebbi added.
The second objective of the sit-in is for the authorities to recognise the status of detainees as political prisoners, he said.
Chebbi explained that the international definition of a political prisoner "is a person who is arrested for his peaceful political ideas and activities, thus distinguishing him from the prisoner of public right".
Tunisian President Kais Saied denies that the arrests were political, and accuses some of those arrested of "conspiring against state security and being behind the crises of distribution of goods and high prices".
It is noteworthy that the National Salvation Front was established on May 31, 2022, and includes 6 parties: Ennahda, Qalb Tounes, Dignity Coalition, Hirak Tounes-Will, Hope, Work and Achievement, in addition to the "Citizens Against the Coup" campaign.