The Desperation of Dictators: Tunisia’s President Is Running Out of Time
NEED TO KNOW
The Desperation of Dictators: Tunisia’s President Is Running Out of Time
TUNISIA
A Tunisian court opened a high-profile trial in early March to hear evidence against 40 people accused of various charges that include illegal contact with foreign individuals and organizations, conspiracy against state security, and membership in a terrorist organization.
Some of the charges carry the death penalty.
The accused, who are lawyers, journalists, former government officials, politicians, business leaders, human rights activists, and former diplomats, don’t have much in common except that they are all high-profile critics of President Kais Saied.
The president has called the accused “terrorists and traitors.” They call him a “dictator.”
Some of the defendants have been in jail for two years, others have fled the country. Many aren’t allowed to attend the trial because they are deemed threats to national security, a charge their lawyers and families dispute.
As the trial opened, protesters and family members of the accused outside the courthouse called the trial a sham and said the charges were fabricated and politically motivated.
“It is one of the darkest injustices in Tunisia’s history,” the head of the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights, Bassam Trifi, told the BBC.
But most observers weren’t surprised by the trial. After all, it’s just part and parcel of the dictator’s playbook, observers said.
“(The) violent return to authoritarian rule, similar to that of (former president) Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is very real – the parallels between the two leaders are increasingly obvious to many Tunisians and international observers,” wrote Le Monde. “The concentration of power in the hands of the president, repressive measures against the opposition, and attacks on freedom of the press all point to a repressive regime and the savagery of a dictatorship.”
The birthplace of the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings, Tunisia had a messy experiment with popular rule and, at the same time, suffered economic setbacks. Meanwhile, the new governments that followed Ben Ali did little to address the economic misery or dismantle the architecture of corruption that touches all aspects of society, both factors that had helped ignite the Tunisian revolution.
Out of frustration, Tunisian voters in 2019 elected Saied, a former constitutional law professor. Two years later, he dissolved parliament, dismissed the prime minister, and suspended the constitution, instituting a rule by presidential decree in what critics called “a coup.” The president has taken control over the judiciary and rewritten the constitution to enhance his powers.
Since then, the country – long seen as the region’s most progressive – has witnessed a significant rollback of freedoms.
Police regularly round up activists, journalists, lawyers, and opposition politicians, charging them with conspiracy and other terrorism-related crimes. Recently, content creators, even those who are apolitical, have been arrested and jailed, accused of “indecency.”
Saied’s supporters argue his crackdowns are necessary to stabilize a nation grappling with inflation, unemployment, nepotism, and corruption, wrote the Associated Press. Many Tunisians blame political elites for corruption and the economic mismanagement of the country.
“We didn’t need more debates in parliament,” one Tunisian voter told the Conversation. “We needed someone to act. And Saied acted.”
Still, some of that support is souring as the economy continues to stagnate. Living standards have fallen due to high inflation, rising public debt, a lack of essential goods, and a high unemployment rate of 16 percent.
In 2022, Saied’s administration negotiated a $1.9 billion bailout loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but the deal collapsed because Saied balked at implementing the reforms demanded by the IMF to stabilize the country’s economy, saying they would increase poverty and fuel social unrest.
The unrest, however, is simmering regardless, say analysts, who point out that the current economic situation is reminiscent of the period that saw the Tunisian revolution erupt.
For example, despite the crackdown on dissent, protests have skyrocketed in Tunisia this year: February saw a 140 percent rise in demonstrations compared with the same period last year. All over the country, people are hitting the streets to voice anger over deteriorating living standards and a lack of opportunities.
Some of these protests involve students acting to self-immolate – it was a street vendor who set himself on fire out of frustration with society that set off the Tunisian revolution almost 15 years ago.
“(After 2021), authorities managed to spread fear and self-censorship in activists’ circles, through laws like Decree 54, harassment and trials,” Karim Toraa, president of the unemployed graduates’ association, told the Middle East Eye, referring to legislation to combat “fake news” – laws known for silencing critics.
“However, we’re past that now,” he added. “People’s socioeconomic conditions are terrible. When people become hungry, they don’t have anything to fear anymore, not jail nor repression.”
Adding to that is an administration mired in chaos, with a revolving door for prime ministers – three in two years – cabinet members and other senior officials.
That means the buck stops with Saied.
“Because Tunisians face so many of the same problems that they did under Ben Ali – corruption, inequality, police brutality, and unemployment – the longer Saied remains in office, the less he can sell himself as a political outsider,” wrote Foreign Affairs. “He is losing the ability to scapegoat other politicians, because Tunisians know that he controls all the levers of government power.”
“Saied has extinguished the country’s experiment with democracy – for now,” it added. “But he should not rest easy.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Hungary Plans Exit from International Criminal Court Following Netanyahu’s Visit
HUNGARY
Hungary will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), the government announced Thursday, just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Budapest for a state visit despite an active ICC arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war in the Gaza Strip, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Netanyahu’s arrival in Hungary on Wednesday marked the first time the Israeli leader has traveled to Europe after the Netherlands-based court issued the arrest warrants in November.
The ICC sent a request to Hungarian authorities Thursday to detain the Israeli leader, but officials said that Hungary would begin the withdrawal process “in line with constitutional and international legal obligations.”
During a joint news conference Thursday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – who for months has said Hungary would not comply with the warrant – denounced the court of having become “a political court”
He added that “Israel can count on Hungary as the impenetrable European bastion of the Judeo-Christian culture.”
Netanyahu, who faces charges alongside former defense minister Yoav Gallant, thanked Orbán for what he called a “bold and principled” decision.
Headquartered in The Hague, the ICC arrest warrants accuse Netanyahu and Gallant of using starvation as a method of warfare and deliberately targeting civilians by restricting humanitarian aid to Gaza since fighting began in October 2023.
The court also issued a warrant for the Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif – whom Israel claims was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July 2024.
Israel and its allies have dismissed the charges as baseless and politically motivated.
Observers and human rights noted that the move that places Hungary in direct opposition to its obligations under international law, while also signaling deepening divisions within the European Union over the court’s legitimacy.
Hungary signed the Rome Statute that established the ICC in 1999 and ratified it in 2001. Formal withdrawal from the ICC takes at least a year, during which Hungary is still legally obligated to comply with ICC requests, according to the Washington Post.
Only two countries – Burundi in 2017 and the Philippines in 2019 – have previously withdrawn from the ICC.
Hungary’s move marks the first time an EU nation has announced plans to exit the ICC.
Even so, a number of EU countries – while remaining parties to the Rome Statute – have expressed reservations about enforcing the ICC’s warrant against Netanyahu.
France and Italy have signaled that they would be unlikely to arrest the Israeli leader if he were to visit.
The United States – which has never ratified the Rome Statute – has strongly condemned the ICC’s move. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February authorizing sanctions against ICC officials involved in the Gaza investigation, accusing the court of pursuing “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting Israel and the US.
Meanwhile, analysts warned that Hungary’s withdrawal and the broader reluctance among Western nations to enforce the ICC’s warrants could severely undermine the court’s credibility and enforcement power.
They also say that the ICC’s growing willingness to pursue high-profile cases – including against leaders of major powers, such as Russia and Israel – has left it politically vulnerable, with enforcement now increasingly shaped by geopolitical alliances rather than the rule of law.
Shopping Boycott and Media Censorship Amid Turkey Protests
TURKEY
Turkey arrested 11 people Thursday for supporting a one-day shopping boycott as protests continue in the country following last month’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the main rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Associated Press reported.
The university students who have been leading the protests invited Turkish businesses to stay closed and asked people not to spend money on Wednesday, declaring it an economic boycott day. Some shopkeepers in Istanbul and the capital Ankara kept their stores closed in solidarity, while some cafes opened but urged customers to bring their own food and drinks, according to Al-Monitor.
Turkish officials condemned the boycott calls and accused the supporters of trying to weaken the government.
Turkey has been grappling with large anti-government demonstrations since last month after the jailing of İmamoğlu on March 19 on corruption and terrorism charges. The opposition politician has denied the allegations, with critics saying the charges are politically motivated and a ruse to keep Istanbul’s mayor out of the next presidential run.
However, Turkey’s government insists the courts are independent entities.
Even in prison, İmamoğlu has been confirmed as the presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). If convicted, he would not be able to legally run in the elections that are scheduled for 2028 but that are likely to take place earlier.
Since İmamoğlu’s arrest, some 2,000 people have been detained, with 316 pending trial. Most face charges related to their participation in the protests, which Erdoğan has labeled as a “movement of violence” and illegal.
Istanbul prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into previous boycotts called by the CHP of certain companies allegedly tied to the government, particularly media firms that did not air the demonstrations where hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to call for İmamoğlu’s release.
Turkish authorities have also been restricting Internet access, specifically to social media platforms, including Facebook, X, and TikTok, to prevent the already very large demonstrations from growing even further.
Last week, the Turkish government issued a 10-day broadcasting ban to one opposition channel while also fining and suspending others, Euronews noted.
Turkey also fined tech company Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, a “substantial” amount for refusing to limit content and social media accounts sharing information about the protests as requested by Turkish authorities, Politico reported. Meta declined to specify which agency imposed the fines and the exact amount expected.
Differently, Elon Musk’s social media platform X largely complied with Turkey’s requests and agreed to suspend accounts run by journalists and opposition figures.
Anti-Government Protests Rock Haiti’s Capital Amid Ongoing Gang Violence
HAITI
Gunfire erupted in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince this week, as thousands of protesters demanding an end to rampant gang violence clashed with police outside the offices of Haiti’s prime minister and the transitional presidential council, marking the first major demonstration against Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé’s administration since his appointment in November, the Miami Herald reported.
On Wednesday, demonstrators wielding machetes, tree branches, and flags marched through the capital, with some participants saying the goal was to storm government offices and demand the resignation of authorities who have failed to stem the violence.
The situation escalated when at least a dozen heavily armed participants opened fire. Police responded with tear gas and reportedly used live ammunition, causing panic and scattering the crowd.
No casualties were confirmed, though the streets were littered with abandoned belongings, the Associated Press noted.
More protests are expected in the coming days across the country.
The unrest comes amid frustration over the failure of Haiti’s transitional council to restore security or hold elections.
The council was established under a US and Caribbean Community-brokered political accord in March 2024 with the aim of resolving Haiti’s years-long political and security crisis, marked by the lack of a working legislature and the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
Criminal gangs control around 90 percent of Port-au-Prince, with William O’Neill, the United Nations human rights commissioner’s expert on Haiti, describing the capital as “an open-air prison.”
Attacks have also spread beyond the capital, including the central city of Mirebalais, where gangs freed more than 500 inmates from a prison Monday and killed two Roman Catholic nuns.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration reported that nearly 6,000 people have been displaced from Mirebalais and the nearby town of Saut d’Eau.
The UN has urged international support for the Kenya-led security mission in Haiti aimed at helping local authorities curb gang violence.
However, the international force only has around 40 percent of the 2,500 personnel it envisioned and has struggled to fight gangs.
UN officials warned that the violence risks overwhelming Haiti’s health and humanitarian systems, with the University Hospital of Mirebalais warning of collapse if the city falls to gangs.
DISCOVERIES
The Dust of Life
New research found chemical building blocks of life in the dust of an asteroid called “Bennu.”
To collect samples from the 1,640-foot-wide space rock, a NASA spacecraft unfurled a robotic arm, gathered about 4.2 ounces of material, packed it into a capsule, and returned it to Earth in 2023, where the dust samples were shared with scientists around the world.
Their analysis revealed an array of minerals and thousands of organic compounds, including 14 of the 20 amino acids that are used on Earth to build proteins in living organisms and all four of the ring-shaped molecules that make up DNA, BBC explained.
Scientists also found a variety of minerals and salts, indicating the past presence of water on the asteroid, along with ammonia, a key element for biochemical reactions.
“It’s just incredible how rich it is,” said Sara Russell, co-author of a different study on this topic. “It’s full of these minerals that we haven’t seen before in meteorites.”
While this does not mean there was ever life on Bennu, it corroborates the theory that asteroids delivered vital ingredients to Earth when crashing into the planet billions of years ago.
“(This discovery) is telling us about our own origins, and it enables us to answer these really, really big questions about where life began,” added Russell.
This study adds to existing and growing evidence that asteroids brought water and organic material to Earth in the early “turbulent” days of the Solar System when many millions of asteroids like Bennu were flying around.
As these asteroids bombarded the young Earth, they left behind essential ingredients – the building blocks that helped form oceans and made life possible.
But Earth wasn’t the only target, as these asteroids likely collided with other planets, delivering the same materials to them as well.
Scientists are now trying to understand the specific conditions that allowed life to prosper on Earth and whether similar conditions could support life elsewhere in the Solar System.