Tunisian authorities arrest union leader as Saied widens crackdown

Beatrice Farhat

Mar 16, 2023

Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, political committee chief of Tunisia's Amal Party and leader of the opposition National Salvation Front part in a demonstration in Tunis on March 5, 2023, in defiance of a protest ban, demanding the release of prominent figures opposed to the president who were arrested in recent weeks. - More than 20 political figures have been arrested in the North African country in recent weeks, including members the main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front (NSF) and its main component — Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, political committee chief of Tunisia's Amal Party and leader of the opposition National Salvation Front, take part in a demonstration in Tunis on March 5, 2023, in defiance of a protest ban, demanding the release of prominent figures opposed to the president who were arrested in recent weeks. — FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images

Tunisia’s police arrested an official of the country’s largest trade union, as Tunisian President Kais Saied faces mounting pressure over his economic policies and widens his crackdown.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Abdel Nasser Ben Amara, the general secretary for culture at the Tunisian General Labor Union (known by its French acronym, UGTT), was detained on Wednesday on suspicion of insulting a minister. His detention comes days after a protest organized by the union in front of the Ministry of Culture, according to the official.