Amnesty International urged on Tuesday Tunisian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release 97 members of opposition group Ennahda arrested between September 12 and 13.
“Those detained were denied access to their lawyers for 48 hours and were brought before the anti-terrorism brigade for questioning. They are being investigated for conspiracy charges and other charges under the counter-terrorism law,” the organization said in a statement.
Tunisian authorities did not explain why the detainees were arrested or the crimes attributed to them.
Ennahda’s top leaders, including its founder Rached al-Ghannouchi, have been in prison for nearly 18 months on charges related to terrorism, incitement against police and plotting against state security.
The party describes the cases against them as “unfounded and politically motivated.”
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General said: “Tunisian authorities are waging a clear pre-election assault on the pillars of human rights and the rule of law, failing to uphold the country’s international human rights obligations and undermining the fundamental principles of justice and fairness.”
“They must end this egregious backslide on human rights and ensure respect for the rights of everyone in the country before, during and after the forthcoming elections,” she demanded.
Tunisia is preparing for presidential elections amid growing political tension particularly after the electoral commission earlier this month rejected a court’s decision to restore the candidacy of three candidates ahead of the Oct. 6 race, citing alleged irregularities in their candidacy filings.
The head of the commission Farouk Bouasker said the commission is the body responsible for managing the elections, including overseeing the performance of the media, a statement that opened the door to legal debate over its authority.
Amnesty said: “Tunisian authorities must allow media and civil society organizations to freely carry out their legitimate activities without fear of reprisal and end all interference in the judiciary.”
Last month, Human Rights Watch accused President Kais Saied of “burying” what remains of Tunisia’s democracy with this election.
“Tunisian authorities should urgently end politically motivated prosecutions and allow for free and fair elections,” it said.
