Tunis – Supporters of Tunisian President Kais Saied demonstrated on Wednesday marking the 15th anniversary of the revolution that provoked the Arab Spring, as rights groups accuse the leader of a crackdown on dissent in the North African country.
“The people want Kais Saied again,” chanted demonstrators, many of them middle-aged men and women, referring to his possible candidacy for a third term in 2029.
Fifteen years ago, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire, triggering Tunisia’s revolution and the Arab Spring.
Millions protested across the region, leading to the fall of five longtime leaders. Here’s what happened to them ⤵️
🔗: https://t.co/PmFnP7XyvR | #Infograph pic.twitter.com/cU0WLSbxWO
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 17, 2025
“The people want national sovereignty. No to foreign interference!” chanted some.
Saied regularly denounces alleged attempts at destabilisation that he says originate from abroad.
Other slogans targeted the jailed head of the Islamist-inspired opposition Ennahdha party, Rached Ghannouchi, a staunch Saied critic, calling him a “henchman” or “murderer”.
In April, Ghannouchi was sentenced to 18 years behind bars on charges of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group” in a mass trial criticised by rights groups.
Ennahdha dominated Tunisian political life for a decade after Ben Ali’s fall in January 2011 until Saied’s power grab in the summer of 2021.
The country’s political opposition and Tunisian and foreign rights groups have denounced a rollback of rights and freedoms since 2021.
Opposition figures have been given lengthy prison terms, as have dozens of lawyers, journalists and civil activists.
في ذكرى اندلاع الثورة.. تونسيون يرفعون شعار “لا للتدخل الأجنبي”
التفاصيل:https://t.co/bncLLqZcnn#تونس pic.twitter.com/rVeKFDoGxy— Tunigate – بوابة تونس (@Tunigate) December 17, 2025
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Source: AFP
