Tunisia bar chief urges end to 'power abuse' after lawyer arrests

Tunisia's bar association head on Tuesday urged an end to "abuse of power" and violence following a police raid on the association's headquarters and the forceful arrest of two lawyers.

The European Union on Tuesday expressed concern over a string of arrests of civil society figures in Tunisia -- the latest sign of the authorities tightening their grip under President Kais Saied.

The lawyers, Sonia Dahmani and Mehdi Zagrouba, were detained at the bar association's Tunis headquarters on Saturday and Monday nights, respectively.

Everyone has "the right to defence without power abuse or resorting to violence", the association's president, Hatem Meziou, told a news conference in the Tunisian capital.

The arrests were heavy handed and showed "disrespect to the profession", he said, calling on Saied to "urgently intervene".

Meziou said police needed authorisation before entering the headquarters to make arrests.

Non-governmental organisations have decried a rollback of freedoms in Tunisia since Saied began ruling by decree after a sweeping power grab in 2021.

Dahmani was arrested late Saturday after criticising the state on television.

On Monday night, police arrested Zagrouba for taking part in protests over Dahmani's arrest, local media reported.

The interior ministry said Zagrouba was arrested for "physical and verbal violence" after attempting to stop police from entering a courthouse earlier in the day.

AFP reporters at the bar association's headquarters on Tuesday saw a broken glass door and scattered furniture in the room where the arrest reportedly took place.

In a statement, an EU spokeswoman said the bloc was following "with concern recent developments in Tunisia, in particular the concomitant arrests of several civil society figures, journalists and political actors".

The European Union last year inked a major cooperation deal with the North African country aimed at curbing the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean.