Tunisian president takeover sparks fears for freedoms

Tunisia, hailed as a rare democratic success story in the Middle East and North Africa, is mired in a political crisis compounded by economic woes

Concern is mounting over freedoms in Tunisia as President Kais Saied presses ahead with a "purge" that has seen politicians, judges and businessmen arrested or banned from travel, activists say.

On July 25, Saied sacked the government and suspended parliament for one month citing powers he says were granted by the constitution, but he has yet to reveal a "roadmap" for his decisions despite repeated demands by political parties.

Saied's shock move has sparked uncertainties for Tunisia, where the Arab Spring began a decade ago, setting in motion pro-democracy revolts across the region that unseated autocratic leaders.

Tunisia, hailed as a rare democratic success story in the Middle East and North Africa, is mired in a political crisis compounded by dire economic woes and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Several politicians, businessmen and judges, as well as members of parliament -- who lost their immunity after Saied suspended the legislature -- have said they were banned from travelling abroad or put under house arrest without prior warning.

Their claims have sparked a chorus of condemnation, with critics denouncing "arbitrary" and "unjustified" measures.

But Saied offered a stiff response to his critics during a recent visit to the Tunis-Carthage International Airport.

"The freedom to travel is a constitutional right which I promise to guarantee," he said.

"But some people will have to answer to the judicial authorities before being able to travel".

Saied insists that his actions are guaranteed by Article 80 of the constitution, which stipulates that the head of state can take "exceptional measures" in case of an "imminent danger" to national security.

Constitutional law professor Salsabil Klibi believes the terms of the controversial article "are more dangerous for rights and freedoms than a state of emergency".

"It implies the suspension of rights and freedoms and other guarantees linked to them," she said.

Sana Ben Achour, a professor specialising in public law, was among many Saied critics who had accused the president of staging a "coup".

The president's measures "violate the constitution", she said.

"He holds power and, as far as he is concerned, he is the only one capable of interpreting the constitution," she said.

By doing so, he is effectively holding all power in his hands, Ben Achour told local media outlets.

But Saied, a former university professor and legal expert who had vowed to revamp the political system through his views of the law after his landslide election in 2019, has brushed aside such criticism.

"We will continue to uphold our principles within the framework of the law, and the laws allow us to take measures to protect the state," he said on Friday.

A group of 45 judges have penned a joint statement denouncing Saied's travel bans as "authoritarian drift".

They also condemned what they called "the awful and unprecedented" moves by the president's travel ban that bars judges from going abroad.

Saied's nemesis, the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party -- the largest bloc in parliament -- said one of their leaders, Anouar Maarouf, was among those held under house arrest.

The opposition Democratic Current party also accused authorities of barring one of its deputies from travelling to France.

Like Ennahdha, the party said the move was arbitrary and did not rest on any "judicial decision".

On Friday night, the former head of Tunisia's anti-corruption body, Chawki Tabib, said he had been ordered under house arrest.

A former head of Tunisia's bar association, Tabib said in a Facebook post that the move was "a flagrant violation" of his rights as guaranteed by the constitution.

Former human rights and civil society minister Kamel Jendoubi agreed, saying Saied cannot go on "violating human rights with impunity".

"Removing Ennahdha and its allies from power does not entitle Saied to feel that he is free" to act, he said in an online statement Saturday.

I Watch, a Tunisian non-government group that battles corruption, said at least 14 members of parliament face legal proceedings or have been sentenced over a range of crimes.

Among the MPs is Yassine Ayari, who was found guilty by a military court in 2018 of criticising the army, and Faycal Tebbini, sentenced in a libel case.

Media outlets have also been targeted since Saied's shock July measures, including Al Jazeera television.

The Qatari broadcaster was shut by police in the Tunisian capital and the keys to the premises confiscated. No reason was given for the closure.

With the deadline on his month-long suspension of parliament looming, Saied is due to address the nation in the coming days.

According to Ben Achour, he is expected to extend this suspension.

"And this can go on for years," she said.