By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The United States says it is, “deeply concerned” over reported arrest and detention of opposition figures by the Tunisian President, Kais Saied, in a clampdown against dissenting voices in the country, with a troubled democratic structure.
The US State Department Spokesperson, Ned Price, said on Wednesday that the arrest of business leaders, journalists and others, are in violation of their rights to hold opinions.
Police in Tunisia recently took into custody, a number of critics of President Saied, including; prominent politicians, two judges, the head of Tunisia’s main independent news organisation and a senior UGTT labour union official.
Ned Price and other US officials in an engagement on Wednesday with Tunisia’s government at all levels in support of human rights and the freedom of expression, called for the release of detained critics.
“We respect the aspirations of the Tunisian people for an independent and transparent judiciary that is able to protect fundamental freedoms for all,” Price added.
The coordinated arrests have raised fears of a wider crackdown on dissent and prompted the UN Human Rights Office to call for their immediate release.
Independent findings on Wednesday, indicate that at least eight critics of the government, including their lawyers and relatives are currently in custody.
In his first comments after the arrests, Saied accused “traitors” of being responsible for price increases and food shortages, and of wanting to fuel a social crisis.
Tunisians have been suffering for months from shortages of food commodities that economic experts say are mainly caused by a crisis in public finances, as the state attempts to avert bankruptcy while negotiating for an international bailout.
Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar said on Tuesday,that the arrests were not political but related to Tunisia’s National Security.
Since Saied shut down parliament 18 months ago, moving to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution, security forces had moved only sporadically against opponents, who accuse him of an undemocratic coup.
Tunisia’s powerful UGTT Labour Union had condemned what it described as, ‘arbitrary’ arrests and campaigns by the authorities, and renewed calls to its supporters to mobilise before planned protests against Saied’s policies.
