During a meeting with his Prime Minister and senior officials on Thursday (20 April), the leader of Tunisia criticized foreign reactions to the country’s opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi’s detention.
The European Union (E.U.) expressed alarm following his detention on Monday (Apr. 19), stating that the “principle of political pluralism was essential for any democracy” and a component forming “the basis of its partnership with Tunisia.”
“They (the capitals) have expressed concerns. Why do they do that when we are talking about a call to civil war,” President Kaies Said asked.
“The law was applied by honest judges.”
“This blatant interference in our affairs is unacceptable. We are an independent and sovereign state and we do not accept any interference in our affairs.”
More than 20 people who publicly disagree with president Saied’s authority in Tunisia have been jailed by the government since the beginning of February.
He was seized on a warrant by counterterrorism prosecutors as part of an enquiry into recent “provocative” comments, according to a story published earlier this week by Tunisia’s official TAP news agency. Nothing more was provided.
In a video that has been circulating online, the leader of the opposition Islamist organisation Ennahdha allegedly claims that the president’s apparent attempts to “eradicate” the Islamist opposition risk igniting civil war. According to some local media, Ghannouchi has been questioned about the video.
The decision was made in the midst of rising social unrest and worsening economic conditions in Tunisia, the country that gave birth to the pro-democracy “Arab Spring” movement more than 10 years ago.
