Abir Moussi, a prominent opponent of Tunisian President Kais Saied, has initiated a hunger strike in prison in protest of her alleged violation of rights to freedom and political activity, as stated by her lawyers.
Imprisoned last month by a judge following her arrest at the presidential palace entrance on suspicion of assault intended to cause chaos, Moussi is the leader of the Free Constitutional Party (PDL). The PDL has warned against efforts to fabricate legal obstacles to obstruct her participation in the upcoming presidential elections.
Her lawyers announced that she would embark on a hunger strike for 16 days to coincide with a campaign to raise awareness about violence against women in Tunisia.
Over the course of this year, police have detained more than 20 prominent political figures, accusing some of plotting against state security. President Saied has labeled those detained as “terrorists, traitors, and criminals”.
President Saied, a retired law professor elected in 2019, dissolved the elected parliament in 2021 and transitioned to ruling by decree, actions that his opponents regard as a coup but he rejects.
Moussi’s party, the PDL, has organized protests against President Saied in recent months. She alleges that Saied is ruling outside the law.
Moussi is a supporter of the late president Zine El Abidine ben Ali who was ousted by mass protests in 2011, a movement that later spread throughout the Middle East and came to be known as “the Arab Spring”.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; editing by Grant McCool)
