Strike of Tunisian Lawyers in Protest Against New Wave of Government Arrests

In Tunisia, a new wave of political arrests has raised concerns about the violation of freedoms and civil rights in this North African country, prompting lawyers to go on strike. The strike by Tunisian lawyers took place on Monday, May 13, in protest against the violent arrest of one of their colleagues at the headquarters of the Bar Association. Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer, was arrested by security forces on Saturday while she was in direct contact with the French network 'France 24' from the Bar Association's location. The global dissemination of images of Dahmani's arrest sparked a wave of reactions. Irousi Zghir, the head of the Bar Association of Tunisia, stated at a press conference on Saturday that the Bar Association's headquarters was attacked by dozens of masked security agents at 7 PM that day, and they violently took Dahmani to an unknown location. He added that security forces behaved violently towards the lawyers present at the office. The head of the Bar Association called for the immediate release of Sonia Dahmani and expressed the association's solidarity with her. Zghir said, 'We have decided to go on a regional strike and suspend work in all courts of the capital on Monday. The Bar Association will hold a meeting to take further measures.' According to Agence France-Presse on Monday, the strike by Tunisian lawyers occurred nationwide, and the head of the Bar Association announced that the strike was '100 percent' observed. However, shortly after the arrest of this lawyer, on Saturday evening, Tunisian security forces also arrested Burhan Bassis, a radio and television presenter, and Mourad Zghidi, a political commentator. Mohamed Zaitoun, the spokesperson for the Tunisian court, announced that the charges against the two were for spreading 'false information with the intent to defame others.' In response to these arrests, a protest was held in Tunisia on Sunday morning, called by the political organization National Salvation Front. Ahmed Najib Chebbi, the head of this political organization, told Agence France-Presse during the protest, 'In the face of the inability to manage the country's crisis, President Kais Saied has only one solution, which is to imprison every thinking person. So, under these circumstances, talking about elections is really mocking the world.' The protests against the government in Tunisia on Sunday were emphasized by this political activist, who stated that the protests were organized to demand fair conditions for holding free elections, and if the efforts of the President's opponents do not lead to changes by the time of the elections, they will have no choice but to boycott the elections. Less than two years ago, following a very low participation rate of eligible voters in Tunisia's parliamentary elections, opposition parties in the country called for the resignation of President Kais Saied. At that time, only 9 percent of eligible voters participated in the parliamentary elections in Tunisia, a situation that the opposition called 'the political disgrace of the ruling party.' Najib Chebbi also stated, 'The current regime is a freedom-suppressing system. All freedoms have been attacked, and unconstitutional laws have been enacted. The constitution itself has been torn apart and trampled.' He pointed out Kais Saied's actions, stating, 'Today, political power in Tunisia is an absolute individual power that has brought all state tools under its control to eliminate rights and freedoms.' According to the National Union of Journalists of Tunisia, since the President's order in September 2022 to combat what he called 'fake news,' more than 60 people, including journalists, lawyers, and opponents of Saied, have faced judicial prosecution. According to Saied's order, anyone arrested on such charges faces a maximum of five years in prison. Since Kais Saied came to power about five years ago, Tunisian NGOs and international organizations have expressed regret over what they call the country's regression in civil rights. After coming to power, Kais Saied dissolved the parliament and dismissed the government that emerged from it. His changes reached a point where the constitution drafted in the constituent assembly that emerged from the protests known as the 'Arab Spring' was replaced by a new constitution.