Police in Tunisia has confirmed the arrest of Chaima Issa, a prominent opponent to President Kais Saied and a senior official in the National Salvation Front for criticising the leader.
Africa Today News, New York reports, earlier, Issam Chebbi who is the leader of the Republican Party and another fierce critic of the president was also arrested.
Lawyers acting for the detained head of a private Tunisian radio station pointed out that he is facing politically motivated money laundering charges.
Noureddine Boutar – arrested earlier this month – is head of the popular Mosaique FM.
The station has long been critical of Mr. Saied.
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More than a dozen people, including politicians, judges, and media figures have been arrested during the past two weeks after they voiced opposition to Saied or sought to mobilise protests against him.
They include a prominent business leader with close ties across the political spectrum, a former finance minister, another former senior Ennahdha official, two judges, and a former diplomat. Lawyers said they were arrested on suspicion of assaulting state security.
In July 2021, Saied shut down parliament, dismissed the government, and moved to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution – moves his critics called a coup that pulled apart the democracy built after a 2011 revolution.
Saied has denied a coup saying his moves were legal and necessary to save Tunisia from chaos. State television has largely stopped broadcasting interviews with critics of the president.
Africa Today News, New York recalls last year, he also took ultimate authority over the judiciary.
The police and the interior ministry declined to comment on the arrests, but lawyers said some of those detained were accused of conspiring against state security.
Saied has also publicly said some of those arrested were responsible for shortages of food and fuel that economists have blamed on a crisis in public finances.
Issam Chebbi is the brother of Nejib Chebbi, leader of the National Salvation Front coalition of opposition groups that has organised protests against Saied.
Ben Mbarek is also a prominent figure in the National Salvation Front and urged the removal of Saied through street protests.