Tunisia: Families of detainees call for EU sanctions on Saied, inner circle

Family members of Tunisian political prisoners filed a request to the European Union on Wednesday asking for sanctions to be imposed on President Kais Saied and his inner circle over alleged human rights violations.

British lawyer Rodney Dixon, KC, submitted the request on behalf of several families, including those of Said Ferjani, a prominent opposition figure who has been in detention in Tunisia for two months, and Rached Ghannouchi, parliament speaker and Ennahdha Party leader who was arrested last week.

The families of Judge Bachir Akremi, as well as opposition leader Ghazi Chaouachi and female political prisoner Chaima Issa were also included in the request.

The complaint calls for sanctions targetting Saied, as well as one former and one current Tunisian interior minister, the justice minister, and the defence minister.

The sanctions would immediately prevent them and their associates from accessing EU markets. 

"We want friends and partners to move past timid expressions of concern," said Dr Yusra Ghannouchi, the daughter of Rached Ghannouchi, at a press conference on Wednesday.

"There must be concrete steps [to show] that they will not tolerate the destruction of Tunisian democracy," she also. 

Rached Ghannouchi, 81, was arrested by plain-clothed policemen while at his home in Tunis, according to his family. He has been interrogated repeatedly while detained on what the family have described as "fabricated charges". 

His arrest is the latest in a series of crackdowns in Tunisia against opposition voices, with authorities detaining more than 20 political opponents and personalities since early February. 

Saied’s critics have condemned the arrests as an alarming extension of his July 2021 power grab, in which he dissolved parliament and sacked the prime minister, later enacting a constitution which gave him authoritarian powers. 

Lawyer Rodney Dixon said at the press conference: "We can’t keep continuing as if nothing is happening. 

"We need to single out and punish people at the top who are perpetrating human rights violations." 

The EU has previously condemned the actions of the Tunisian leadership. This included calling out Saied’s racist comments about sub-Saharan African migrants, who he said were trying to change the demographic makeup of the country, and passing a resolution that criticised his restrictions on freedom of speech. 

However, Yusra Ghannouchi argued that Saied is currently "not listening" to European Members of Parliament, adding: "There is a growing realisation that partners should move beyond only words." 

Along with Tunisia's descent into authoritarinism, the country's economic situation has deteriorated, with inflation and unemployment skyrocketing.