Tunisia’s Saied slams ‘blatant interference’ after international criticism

TUNIS (AFP): Tunisian President Kais Saied on Tuesday lashed out at “comments and statements by foreign parties” following sharp international criticism of a mass trial targeting opposition figures.

“The comments and statements by foreign parties are unacceptable… and constitute blatant interference in Tunisia’s internal affairs,” he said in a statement posted on the presidency’s Facebook page.

“While some have expressed regret over the exclusion of international observers, Tunisia could also send observers to these parties, who have expressed their concerns… and also demand that they change their legislation and amend their procedures,” he added.

Earlier this month, a Tunisian court handed down sentences of between 13 and 66 years to defendants accused of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group.”

The trial involved about 40 defendants, including well-known opposition figures, lawyers and business people, with some already in prison for two years and others in exile or still free.

Those abroad were tried in absentia, including French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy who received a 33-year jail term, lawyers said.

The United Nations and Western countries including France and Germany criticized the trial.

“The process was marred by violations of fair trial and due process rights, raising serious concerns about political motivations,” said the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk.

In a statement on Thursday, Turk urged “Tunisia to refrain from using broad national security and counterterrorism legislation to silence dissent and curb civic space.”

Germany meanwhile said it regretted the “exclusion of international observers from the final day of the trial,” including representatives from the German embassy in Tunis.

Since Saied launched a power grab in the summer of 2021 and assumed total control, rights advocates and opposition figures have decried a rollback of freedoms in the North African country where the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings began.