Tunisia public prosecutor refuses to release opposition figure Chaima Issa

The public prosecutor in Tunisia on Friday appealed the decision to release opposition figure Chaima Issa, who has been detained since February on suspicion of “conspiring against state security,” according to her lawyers.

Earlier on Friday, a judge at the counterterrorism judicial pole ordered the release of Issa, but the appeal filed by the public prosecution suspended the implementation of the decision.

Issa (43 years old) was arrested on 22 February and is one of the leaders of the National Salvation Front, the most prominent opposition coalition against President Kais Saied, who has monopolised power since 25 July, 2021.

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The activist is among around twenty dissidents, journalists and business people arrested as part of an investigation on suspicion of “conspiracy against state security.” Saied described the detainees as “terrorists.”

Some detainees were questioned about meetings and telephone calls with foreign diplomats, and others about interviews with the media, according to their lawyers.

Local and international NGOs criticised the arrests, denouncing the political desire to “silence free voices.”

On 16 June, the leader of the National Salvation Front, Ahmed Najib Al-Shabi, accused President Saied of seeking to “criminalise” any form of dissent. His statements were made before the counterterrorism pole questioned him as part of the investigation into charges of “conspiracy against state security.”

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