Tunisia Shrugs Off UN Censure as Critics See Wave of Arrests

Souhail Karam
·3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Tunisian authorities arrested former judges, veteran politicians and the head of a major broadcaster, in a crackdown on opponents of President Kais Saied that’s sparked criticism from the United Nations.

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Among at least nine detained include Noureddine Boutar, who founded and heads independent radio station Mosaique FM, and Noureddine Bhiri, a former justice minister and lawmaker from the opposition Islamist Ennahda party. Khayam al-Turki, who in 2020 was touted as a potential prime minister, was arrested at the weekend.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, on Tuesday voiced concern over a “deepening crackdown against perceived political opponents and civil society” and steps that “continue to undermine the independence of the judiciary.”

The suppression comes amid growing opposition to Saied as he prepares to swear in a new assembly after a parliamentary election that recorded one of the world’s lowest voter turnouts. Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring, and was once seen as a progressive democracy until Saied assumed sweeping powers and suspended a previous parliament in 2021, ostensibly to end corruption he said was causing economic strife.

There’s also frustration about a stumbling economy and a slide in living standards, with a fifth of the country now classed as impoverished and suffering recurring food shortages. Youth unemployment rose to 37.8% in 2022 and inflation is at a 30-year high. Tunisian authorities are working to secure an International Monetary Fund bailout, with reform plans central to the process.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva this week said “very good progress” has been made for approval of a loan program, signaling a breakthrough could be near after a deadlock lasting months.

‘Terrorists’

The presidency didn’t respond to a written request for comment on the arrests. In a meeting with security chiefs at the Interior Ministry late Tuesday, Saied referred to unspecified people arrested as “terrorists who have to be held to account.” He said no one had been detained for expressing their opinions.

“We won’t let Tunisia be easy prey for these criminals — terrorists who want to abuse the Tunisian people and hit the Tunisian state,” he said in videoed comments posted on the presidency’s Facebook page. Earlier in the day, he accused opponents of organizing food shortages to inflame social discontent.

Union Battle

The president is separately entangled in an intensifying battle with the powerful Tunisian General Labour Union, or UGTT, which has been organizing strikes in sectors such as mosques, highways and at the drinking-water utility. Authorities arrested some UGTT officials, including two leaders of the mosque workers chapter, for engaging in industrial action.

More tension may be in store after the UGTT accused the government of reneging on a wage-hike agreement for public-sector workers ahead of winning preliminary approval from the IMF for a $1.9 billion bailout.

Four political parties, including the secular Democratic Attayar, denounced the arrests as a “manipulation” of the public prosecution office and the police to “terrorize critics of the regime.”

The leader of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, or SNJT, Tunisia’s main press union, said Boutar was questioned over the editorial line of Mosaique FM.

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