Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Tuesday that Tunisian authorities have arrested three prominent activists following a “sham trial.” The organization urges authorities to immediately overturn the “unjust convictions” and release those detained.

Bassam Khawaja, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, highlighted the political significance of the detentions by saying:

The arrests of prominent opposition figures are the latest step in President Kais Saied’s scheme to eliminate any alternative to his one-man rule… The Tunisian authorities have effectively criminalized political opposition and human rights activism, crushing any hope of a return to a democratic process. Tunisia’s international partners… should condemn the country’s spiraling descent into authoritarianism.

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