Tunisian security authorities detained a number of participants following a protest held last Saturday, which demanded the immediate release of four activists associated with the Flotilla of Resistance. These arrests coincide with the ongoing hunger strike by the detained activists, marking the thirty-sixth day for activist Wael Nawar and the twelfth day for the others. The detainees are protesting their continued imprisonment and the recent extension of their detention orders by an additional four months.
The National Committee for the Defense of the Flotilla’s activists announced that security elements carried out mass arrests early Monday morning during the march. The committee reported that police prevented lawyers from entering detention centers to provide legal defense or monitor the condition of the detainees. The detentions affected approximately fifteen individuals, including committee member Rachid Othmani, Qais Bouziza, Marwan Bel Diabi, Ghith Hamrouni, Adel Ben Gazai, Adam Mubarak, Mariem Helfaoui, and Dr. Thouraya Chetibi along with her husband and two daughters.
In a statement, the committee condemned the police actions as part of a broader effort to restrict the right to demonstrate and express opinions. They highlighted the obstruction of legal access at the Ouyouna detention center, noting that the official list of detainees remains unknown regarding both numbers and identities. The committee cited a lack of clear official data concerning the whereabouts and fate of those taken into custody.
Demands were issued for the immediate disclosure of the detainee list, their locations, and the facilitation of contact between prisoners, their families, and legal counsel. The committee insisted on full respect for legal and procedural rights, placing responsibility for the physical and legal safety of the detainees squarely on the authorities. They asserted that the right to peaceful demonstration and expression cannot be subject to suppression or violation.
Hundreds of Tunisians participated in the Saturday protest, calling for the freedom of the Flotilla of Resistance activists who have been held in prisons for months on charges related to money laundering. Demonstrators chanted slogans accusing imperialist agents of Zionist narratives and declaring that criminalizing solidarity with Palestine constitutes high treason. Other chants emphasized that the struggle would continue without restrictions on heroes, asserting that oppressors cannot humiliate fighters, and promising a return to Gaza alongside the heroes of resistance.
