Abir Moussi goes on hunger strike in a theatrical display to attract attention
The leader of the Free Destourian Party seeks public sympathy and international support, portraying her imprisonment as a violation of women's rights
Abir Moussi, the leader of the Free Destourian Party and a prominent opponent of Tunisian President Kais Saied, began a hunger strike on Tuesday in prison, protesting against the “violation of her rights to freedom, political activity, and intellectual affiliation,” as stated by her lawyers. It is believed that the hunger strike is a desperate attempt to draw attention both domestically and internationally, where Moussi is known for her provocative and populist politics. Critics accuse her of undermining political work in recent years, especially in the dissolved parliament.
Last month, a judge ordered Abir Moussi‘s imprisonment after her arrest at the entrance of the presidential palace on suspicion of “intentional assault aimed at changing the state’s structure and causing chaos,” as part of a campaign launched by the authorities this year against opposition politicians. Moussi‘s party had earlier warned of “attempts to fabricate legal obstacles to prevent her from participating in the upcoming presidential elections.”
Her lawyers stated on Tuesday that her hunger strike would last for 16 days, coinciding with the international campaign against violence against women in Tunisia. They added that the leader of the Free Destourian Party would submit urgent complaints to all regional and international institutions with agreements with the Tunisian state, revealing the violations she is subjected to and condemning the current decline in women’s rights in Tunisia.
In an attempt to gain sympathy domestically and internationally, Moussi‘s lawyers point out her health crisis and spinal column disease preventing her from standing. Observers believe that these positions are part of a strategy to gain public sympathy, blaming the entire political class for the economic and social deterioration over the past decade. Moussi had previously gone on a hunger strike in parliament during the past decade as part of her strategy to undermine political work.
Just days ago, the leader of the Free Destourian Party sent a message to the public titled “Message from a Woman Threatened with Execution” as part of a policy of seeking sympathy. Tunisians, however, seem uninterested in the claims made by some politicians in prisons, including the head of the Ennahdha Movement, Rached Ghannouchi, of being mistreated, considering it a form of political pressure to evade accountability. Moussi‘s recent actions have only garnered sympathy from her supporters.
While Moussi criticizes foreign interventions in Tunisia’s internal affairs, this time she does not object to seeking international pressure on President Kais Saied to secure her release. Tunisian police have arrested over 20 prominent political figures, some accused of conspiring against state security. Saied described those detained as “terrorists, traitors, and criminals.”
Saied, elected president in 2019, closed the previous parliament, accused of corruption in 2021, and assumed power through decrees, a move criticized by his opponents as a coup. Saied insists that his steps are legitimate, aimed at reforming and overcoming the corruption of the past decade.
In recent months, the Free Destourian Party has organized protests against Saied. Moussi accuses the party’s leader of ruling outside the law, with the party affirming that Saied aims to remove her due to her significant popularity.
Moussi was a supporter of the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ousted by mass protests in 2011, which later spread across the Middle East, becoming known as the “Arab Spring.”
