Rhino: Agencies – The European Union on Tuesday expressed concern over a wave of arrests of several civil society figures, journalists and political activists in Tunisia and demanded clarifications.
On Monday, Tunisian police raided the headquarters of the Bar Association for the second time in 48 hours and arrested lawyer Mehdi Zagrouba, following the arrest of Sania Dahmani, another lawyer critical of the president, earlier in the week.
Opposition parties described the raid on the Bar Association’s headquarters as an unprecedented escalation.
In a separate incident over the weekend, police also arrested two journalists at EFM radio, Mourad Zaghidi and Berhane Bessis, for radio comments and social media posts, according to their lawyers.
‘Freedom of expression and association as well as the independence of the judiciary are guaranteed by the Tunisian constitution and form the basis of our partnership,’ the EU said in a statement.
Last week, police also arrested civil society activists working on migration, including prominent activist Saadia Mesbah, on suspicion of helping migrants stay in Tunisia and financial irregularities, lawyers said.
President Kais Saied said this month during a meeting of the National Security Council that the migrant situation raises questions about who it is really behind.
He added that a number of officials who run civil society organizations that defend the rights of migrants are ‘traitors’ who receive money from abroad.

Saeed took office after free elections in 2019, but two years later he seized additional powers when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree, moves the opposition labelled a coup.
Saeed rejects the accusations and says his moves are legal and aimed at ending years of chaos and corruption.