Tunisian police arrested prominent opposition figure Chaima Issa at a protest in Tunis on Saturday to enforce a 20-year prison sentence.
The arrest comes after an appeals court handed jail terms of up to 45 years to opposition leaders, business leaders, and lawyers on Friday, charging them with conspiracy to overthrow President Kais Saied.
Critics say this is a sign of increasingly authoritarian rule.
Issa, who received the 20-year sentence, had urged Tunisians to continue protesting and reject tyranny before her arrest. “They will arrest me shortly,” she told Reuters. “I say to the Tunisians, continue to protest and reject tyranny. We are sacrificing our freedom for you.” She described the charges as unjust and politically motivated.
The police are also expected to arrest Najib Chebbi, head of the opposition National Salvation Front, who received a 12-year prison sentence. Chebbi called for unity among opposition factions, saying, “We will not gain freedom except by unity.”
Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have called for the immediate annulment of the sentences, citing an escalation of Saied’s crackdown on dissent since 2021.
