Tunisia arrests raise opposition fears of wider crackdown

FILE PHOTO: Tunisia's President Kais Saied gives a statement on the coronavirus vaccination in Brussels, Belgium on February 18, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool/File Photo

TUNIS (Reuters) - Coordinated arrests of political and media figures represent a new phase in Tunisian President Kais Saied's struggle with a fragmented but emboldened opposition, raising fears of a wider campaign to quell dissent.

Since Saied shut down parliament 18 months ago, moving to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution, security forces had moved only sporadically against opponents who accuse him of an undemocratic coup.