A report detailed the transfer of several jailed Tunisian opposition figures on Thursday without prior notification to prisons far from their families, a move denounced as “repressive” by their lawyers and relatives on Friday.
Lawyer Dalila Msaddek told AFP that at least seven political figures were moved from Mornaguia prison near Tunis to remote facilities.
Prominent figure Issam Chebbi was transferred to a jail in Bizerte, Tunisia’s northernmost city, while Ridha Belhaj was moved to Siliana, approximately two hours south of Tunis.
Msaddek stated that these transfers occurred “without any warning” to the families or lawyers, labeling them as “a form of harassment” intended to complicate visits for Tunis-based families and lawyers.
Weekly prison visits in Tunisia allow families to provide food for the prisoners.
Msaddek added that some inmates resisted the transfers but were forcibly moved.
In a letter from prison shared on social media, Belhaj condemned the forced transfer “far from my family, my children, and my lawyers,” viewing it as another attempt to “break my will.”
He asserted that he, Chebbi, and Ghazi Chaouachi are “prisoners of conscience, not criminals,” describing the situation as a “desperate attempt to silence free voices.”
Since President Kais Saied’s 2021 power grab, rights groups have cautioned about a significant decline in civil liberties.
