Rights group urges Tunisia authorities to reveal President Saied’s ‘health condition’

The Tunisian Association for the Defence of Individual Liberties has called on the Tunisian presidency to reveal the real status of President Kais Saied’s health condition after “confirming” the authenticity of leaks attributed to former Director of the Office of the President Nadia Akacha.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the authority disclosed that the French magazine Jeune Afrique confirmed, in an article published on Monday, the authenticity of the audio leaks: “Given the seriousness of the content of these leaks, especially what is related to the mental health of the president of the republic, the authority calls on the Presidency of the Republic to issue a statement addressed to the public about the president’s health condition.”

The authority criticised the issuing of an imprisonment order against journalist Saleh Attia, which followed a press statement he made to an international news channel affirming its: “Refusal to sue civilians before the military judiciary. It also affirmed its refusal to prosecute journalists, bloggers, and every form of expression, whether through traditional or electronic press or social media networks, outside the provisions of Decree No. 115 related to the freedom of the press, printing and publication.”

In her telephone calls with Atef Al-Hamzawi, an employee at the US Embassy in Paris, which were leaked on social media, Akacha confirmed that President Saied suffers from a chronic “mental illness” and urgently requires medical help. She also discussed his “fear” of some presidents, such as his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

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