Tunisia opposition spokesman latest Saied critic detained: party

The spokesman of Tunisia's Islamist-leaning Ennahdha party has been detained, his party said on Wednesday, denouncing the latest arrest of a prominent critic of President Kais Saied.

Abdelfattah Taghouti was detained by a national guard unit on Tuesday evening, Ennahdha said, demanding his immediate release.

More than 20 political figures have been arrested in the North African country in recent weeks, including members of the main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, and its main component, Ennahdha.

In its statement Wednesday, the party condemned a "campaign of arbitrary arrests aimed at diverting attention from the failings of the regime".

Saied froze parliament and sacked the government in a dramatic July 2021 move against the sole democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings.

He later pushed through sweeping changes to the country's political system, concentrating near-total power in his office.

The president has described those detained as "terrorists" even though they also include several businessmen and the director of the country's most popular private radio station.