Tunisia police arrrest opposition figure Chaima Issa during protest

Arrest comes aft appeals tribunal handed jailhouse presumption to absorption leaders, businessmen and lawyers connected charges of conspiracy to overthrow President Kais Saied.

Tunisian constabulary person arrested salient absorption fig Chaima Issa astatine a protestation successful the superior Tunis connected Saturday, lawyers said.

The protestation came aft an appeals tribunal connected Friday handed jailhouse presumption of up to 45 years to absorption leaders, businessmen and lawyers connected charges of conspiracy to overthrow President Kais Saied. Issa was handed a 20-year condemnation during the trial.

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“They volition apprehension maine shortly,” Issa had told the Reuters quality bureau moments earlier her arrest.

“I accidental to the Tunisians, proceed to protestation and cull tyranny. We are sacrificing our state for you”.

She described the charges arsenic unjust and politically motivated.

Police are besides wide expected to apprehension Najib Chebbi, the caput of the absorption National Salvation Front, the main absorption conjugation challenging Saied.

He received a 12-year situation sentence, and absorption fig Ayachi Hammami received a five-year sentence.

Human Rights Watch connected Friday described the proceedings arsenic a “travesty of justice”, saying it was “political, unfair, and without the slightest evidence” against the defendants.

In a connection to the AFP quality agency, the US-based rights radical condemned the “shameless instrumentalisation of the judiciary to destruct Saied’s opponents”.

Meanwhile, UK-based rights radical Amnesty International said the ruling was “an appalling indictment of the Tunisian justness system”, condemning “a relentless run to erode rights and soundlessness dissent” successful Tunisia.

During a sweeping powerfulness drawback successful July 2021, Saied suspended parliament and expanded enforcement powerfulness truthful helium could regularisation by decree. Since then, the president has jailed galore of his critics.

Many of the powers that Saied had taken for himself were aboriginal enshrined successful a caller constitution, ratified successful a wide boycotted 2022 referendum, portion media figures and lawyers captious of Saied person been prosecuted and detained nether a “fake news” law enacted that aforesaid year.

Saied says his actions are ineligible and aimed astatine ending years of chaos and rampant corruption.