Free Destourian Party opposition leader Abir Moussi was recently sentenced to two years in prison, delivering the latest blow to Tunisian democracy. She was accused of criticizing the legislative process, and “attempting to change the form of government, inciting violence attacking with the aim of provoking disorder.”
This decision was made by presidential decree under President Kais Saied, during a time when Tunisia has become progressively more authoritarian under his government.
Tunisia was a viewed as a beacon of hope after the nation became a democracy following a peaceful revolution which overthrew Zine El Ben Ali. Afterwards, the country went through the process of formulating a new constitution – the start of a reform process that won the Nobel Prize.
However, Saied, since coming to power in 2019, has been undermining the country’s democracy. In 2022 Saied abolished the national parliament and started running the country by decree.
He has also rewritten the constitution to take more direct power for himself. During the 2024 elections Saied arrested several opposition figures, winning the election virtually unopposed.
In April, Saied arrested several members of the opposition in a crackdown on freedom of speech. This included the arrests of the leaders of the opposition party the National Salvation Front Issam Chebbi and Jawhar Ben Mbarek as well as several members of the nation’s Islamist party Ennahada.
This was all done due to a new law Decree 54, which has been used to restrict so-called “false language.” Under this decree there have also been several arrests of journalists, bloggers and everyday citizens.
Opposition figures were imprisoned in sentences of up to 4-74 years after trials which have been named by Amnesty International as “farcical.”
Moussi’s arrest came after she had tried to submit appeals against presidential decrees which were used ahead of 2024 elections to control the country’s democracy. Her arrest now joins a large number that is all part of the Tunisia experiencing a massive democratic backsliding, leaving the state of the nation’s future into question.
