TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied on Friday condemned a European Parliament resolution on human rights calling for the release of his critics as “blatant interference.”
The EU Parliament resolution, voted by an overwhelming majority the day before, called for the release of Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer and popular critic of Saied, who was freed from prison Thursday but remained under judicial supervision.
“The European Parliament (resolution) is a blatant interference in our affairs,” Saied said in a video statement.
“They can learn lessons from us on rights and freedoms.”
Saied was heard in the video statement telling Foreign Affair Minister Mohamed Ali Nafti to “strongly protest to a representative of a foreign country accredited in Tunisia” also accused of interference, though unnamed.
“Anyone who disrespects our country or ignores the rules of international conduct must understand that we will not accept this, and we will hold them fully accountable for their actions,” he added.
The foreign ministry said on Friday it had summoned the Dutch ambassador in “protest due to her failure to respect the rules of diplomacy,” calling on her “not to interfere in the internal affairs of Tunisia.”
It remained unclear what the envoy, Josephine Frantzen, had said or done.
Saied’s condemnation also came two days after he summoned the EU’s ambassador for “failing to respect diplomatic rules” in the North African country.
The EU Parliament’s resolution also demanded the release of “all those detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression, including political prisoners and human rights defenders” in Tunisia.
Saied was elected in 2019 after Tunisia emerged as the only democracy to come out of the Arab Spring.
In 2021, he staged a sweeping power grab, and human rights groups have since warned of a rollback on freedoms.
Dozens of Saied’s critics are currently being prosecuted or held behind bars.
On Friday, nearly 40 people including prominent political figures were handed prison sentences of up to 45 years on appeal.
The defendants had been sentenced to up to 66 years in prison in April over charges of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group.”
The EU Parliament’s resolution also called for the repeal of the law under which Dahmani was prosecuted, “which has led to prosecutions for expressions of opinion, and of all abusive legislation used to limit freedoms.”
The law, which Saied enacted in 2022, prohibits “spreading false news.”
Dahmani, 60, was arrested by masked men in May 2024 and faced charges in several cases over her comments on radio and television denouncing racism in Tunisia.
Tunisia calls EU parliament rights resolution ‘blatant interference’
https://arab.news/gw3tg
Tunisia calls EU parliament rights resolution ‘blatant interference’
- “The European Parliament (resolution) is a blatant interference in our affairs,” Saied said
- “Anyone who disrespects our country or ignores the rules of international conduct must understand that we will not accept this”
Gazan family takes legal action against UK govt for preventing them settling in Britain
- Family members trying to reunite with their father but have been refused key travel documents
- Gaza currently has no facilities to collect biometric data that UK requires
LONDON: A Palestinian family is taking legal action against the British government over a decision to bar them from settling in the UK.
The six family members, ranging in age from 14 to 23 years old, are seeking to leave Gaza and reunite with their father, but have been denied entry for security reasons.
UK government lawyers said it is official policy not to allow access to the country without biometric data, which is currently impossible to obtain or submit in Gaza.
In order to gather the relevant data, the family would need to exit Gaza via Jordan, which would require the provision of onward travel assurances by the UK government, which have not been granted.
At a court hearing on Monday, government lawyer Rory Dunlop said via written submission that giving the OTAs would be a “step too far” from current policy.
“An OTA is an exception to that policy because it requires the Secretary of State for the Home Department to guarantee entry before biometrics have been checked,” he said.
“Every exception to Her (His) Majesty’s Government biometric policy carries risks to national and border security because the individual may pose a risk that can only be identified by their biometrics.
“That is particularly so in a case, as here, where some of the claimants seeking an OTA are adults living in an area where there has been significant terrorist activity.”
The family say the decision to reject their applications is a breach of their human rights. Lawyer Charlotte Kilroy, acting on behalf of the family, said each member could prove their identity via their passports, and Israeli authorities had already approved their application to transit through the country to Jordan.
“Israel uses tools of mass-surveillance in Gaza, meaning any risks they posed related to terrorism activity in the region would have been identified,” Kilroy said.
“The claimants have never left Gaza, meaning there is no real prospect of their data being held or showing risk to the public interest in UK biometric checks.”
At an earlier hearing in December, when the decision was taken to reject the applications, Kilroy noted that the family’s father was taking medication to improve his mental health as the situation had left him worried over the safety of his relatives.
Earlier, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood won the right to restrict migrants using the European Convention on Human Rights to settle in the UK, after the Court of Appeal agreed with her that a scheme opened for Ukrainian refugees could not be used by others, following a Palestinian family’s attempts to use it to justify coming to Britain.
