Saied's Scapegoats: Oppressive tactics return to Tunisia as autocracy takes hold

Three years into President Kais Saied’s rule and Tunisia is on the brink of an economic meltdown and widespread social collapse. 

Hundreds of thousands of Tunisians are barely surviving as standards of living plummet. 

Amid this climate of hopelessness, Saied has taken aim at opposition figures and other scapegoats, such as black African migrants. 

Arrests and attacks are becoming commonplace in the north African country, which slips ever further towards autocracy. 

This week, The New Arab Voice looks at what has happened in President Kais Saied’s Tunisia and who he has chosen to blame for the country’s ill fate. 

We speak with Seifeddine Ferjani (@Ferjani9arwi), the son of Said Ferjani, a Tunisian opposition figure currently detained in Tunisia. 

We include audio from a press conference with Kaouther Ferjani (@TheKaouther), Said’s daughter, and Temple Garden Chambers (@TG_Chambers) who filed an appeal to the UK foreign secretary to sanction top-ranking Tunisian officials, including the president. 

We also discuss creeping populism and social grievances in Tunisia with Fadil Aliriza (@FadilAliriza) founder and editor-and-chief of Meshkal; as well asTharwa Boulifi (@TharwaBoulifi) a young journalist in Tunisia. 

This podcast is written and produced by Rosie McCabe. 

Theme music by Omar al-Fil. 

Other music by Blue Dot Sessions. 

To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TheNewArabVoice or email hugo.goodridge@alaraby.co.uk 

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