Tunisia has released a prominent lawyer who emerged as a vocal critic of the president

A Tunisian court on Monday ordered the release of prominent lawyer Ahmed Souab, a staunch critic of President Kais Saied, according to his family. The opposition views this decision as a potential step towards the release of other imprisoned opponents.

Souab was serving a five-year prison sentence after his arrest and subsequent imprisonment last year.

The court did not provide any explanation for its ruling during the hearing on Monday. Souab’s lawyers and family reported that he had been experiencing health issues recently. “This is excellent news, and we hope it will lead to the release of all unjustly imprisoned detainees,” Souab’s brother Mongi shared with Reuters. “We are en route to the prison, anticipating his release.”

Souab’s arrest ignited significant outrage among political parties and civil society organizations, who viewed it as a troubling intensification of the repression of dissent and a deeper entrenchment of authoritarianism in Tunisia.

Souab, a retired administrative judge and lawyer, has consistently expressed that the judiciary has lost its independence under Saied.

Last year, he stated that the judiciary had been dismantled and that judges were facing immense pressure “with a knife to their heads”.heads.”

Officials classified his remarks as a threat to the judges, leading to his detention on charges related to terrorism.

Opposition and rights groups assert that Saied has maintained complete control over the judiciary since he dissolved parliament in 2021 and commenced ruling by decree. In 2022, he disbanded the independent Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed numerous judges.

The majority of opposition leaders, as well as numerous activists and investigative journalists, continue to be incarcerated. The opposition claims that Tunisia has turned into an open-air prison. Saied refutes claims of being a dictator or meddling in the judiciary.