As the Arab Spring’s once promising and inspiring democratic transition faces its fiercest onslaught, threatening to take Tunisia back to the darkest eras of dictatorship, Tunisian democrats are bravely resisting and defending their hard won rights and freedoms. While opposition leaders make progress towards presenting a united, diverse and broad front for the restoration of democracy, they are facing a wide campaign of arbitrary arrests, politically motivated charges, demonisation and threats.
All believers in the shared values of freedom and democracy around the world must stand by them in their struggle for freedom.
Most recently, Rached Ghannouchi, who was democratically elected as Speaker of Tunisia’s Parliament that was unconstitutionally dissolved by President Kais Saied, was arrested at his home on 17 April 2023 to join the dozens of opposition leaders in jail. The charges against him and other opposition leaders are a desperate attempt to eliminate the leading voices of opposition to the destruction of democracy in Tunisia and distract attention from the deepening political, economic and social crises in the country.
We, the undersigned, academics and public figures, express our solidarity with Mr. Ghannouchi and all Tunisian democrats unjustly arrested or prosecuted, and call on the Tunisian authorities to release all political prisoners in Tunisia.
At the age of eighty-one, Mr Ghannouchi is recognised as one of the most prominent advocates of democracy in the Arab world and of Muslim democracy. He has been one of the most consistent voices of moderation and condemnation of extremism. His consensus-building approach and consistent calls for dialogue and unity across political, intellectual and ideological lines are needed in Tunisia, the wider region and beyond more than ever. Depriving Tunisia, the region and the world of one of the most prominent voices of moderation and democracy would be a tragic loss far beyond Tunisia’s borders.
Mr. Ghannouchi’s arrest is part of a wide-ranging “politically motivated witch hunt”, as described by Amnesty International. The Tunisian authorities have arbitrarily prosecuted, arrested and detained democratic political party leaders, civil society representatives, union members, judges and journalists, many of whom are facing the same charges of “conspiring against state security” for their defense of Tunisian democracy.
We call on the Tunisian authorities to release all political prisoners and to restore freedoms and human rights in Tunisia.
To add your name to the list of signatories, please send your details to freeghannouchi@gmail.com
Signatories
1. Paul Aarts, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2. Rushain Abbasi, Stanford University , USA
3. Deina Abdelkader, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA
4. Khaled Abou El Fadl, UCLA, USA
5. Samir Abu Rumman, Princeton University, USA
6. José Abu Tarbush, Universidad de La Laguna, Spain
7. Amna Afreen, Georgetown University, USA
8. Reza Afshari, Pace University, New York, USA
9. Nadia Ahmad, Barry University, USA
10. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Minaret of Freedom Institute, USA
11. Kadri Aïssa , Paris 8, France
12. Shabbir Akhtar, University of Oxford, UK
13. Cyra Akila Choudhury, Flordia International University College of Law, USA
14. Khalil al-Anani, Arab Center Washington, USA
15. Abdullah Al-Arian, Georgetown University , USA
16. Usaama al-Azami, University of Oxford, UK
17. Lubaaba Al-Azami, University of Liverpool, UK
18. Salam Al-Marayati, Bayan Claremont Graduate School, USA
19. Aline Alencar, University of Brasília, Brazil
20. Rashad Ali, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UK
21. Ahmet Alibašić, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
22. Madawi Alrasheed, London School of Economics, UK
23. Anas Altikriti, Cordoba Foundation, UK
24. Ovamir Anjum, University of Toledo, USA
25. Mahmoud Annakoua, Author and former Ambassador of Libya, UK
26. Walter Armbrust, University of Oxford, UK
27. Abbas Aroua, Cordoba Peace Institute, Switzerland
28. Paola Bacchetta, University of California, Berkeley, USA
29. Suleyman Baki, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tetova, Republic of North Macedonia
30. Aslı Bâli, Yale University, USA
31. Ismail Bardhi, Faculty of Islamic Sciences in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
32. Eva Bellin, Brandeis University, USA
33. Sylvia I. Bergh, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
34. Yahya Birt, Ayaan Institute, London , UK
35. Laurent Bonnefoy, Sciences Po, Paris, France
36. Michaelle L. Browers, Wake Forest University, USA
37. Jonathan Brown, Georgetown University, USA
38. Katherine Bullock, University of Toronto, Canada
39. François Burgat, Institut de recherches et d’études sur le monde arabe et musulman, Aix-en-Provence, France
40. Charles E. Butterworth, University of Maryland
41. Jocelyne Cesari, Georgetown University, USA
42. Souhail Chichah, Williams College, USA
43. Noam Chomsky, University of Arizona, USA
44. Youssef Chouhoud, Christopher Newport University, USA
45. Sarah Cliffe, New York University, USA
46. Juan Cole, University of Michigan, USA
47. Pieter Coppens, Vrije Universitet Amsterdam, The Netherlands
48. Omar Dajani , University of the Pacific, USA
49. Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, Université de Paris-Cité, France
50. Pablo de Grieff, New York University, USA; First UN Special Rapporteur for the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence (-), USA
51. Miguel Hernando de Larramendi, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
52. Marta Garcia de Paredes, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain
53. Sedad Dedic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
54. Yasser M. Dhouib, Canadian Observatory for Rights and Freedoms CORF, Canada
55. Mona T. Diab, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
56. Larry Diamond, Stanford University , USA
57. Susan Douglass, Georgetown University, USA
58. Michelle Dunne, Franciscan Action Network, USA
59. Baudoin Dupret, Sciences Po Bordeaux, France
60. Enes Durmišević, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
61. Alyaa Ebbiary, Durham University, UK
62. Ahmed El Shamsy, University of Chicago, USA
63. Khadijah Elshayyal, University of Edinburgh, UK
64. Anver Emon, University of Toronto, Canada
65. John P. Entelis, Fordham University, USA
66. John Esposito, Georgetown University, USA
67. Roxanne Euben, University of Pennsylvania, USA
68. Mohammed Fadel, University of Toronto, Canada
69. Dalia Fahmy, Long Island University, USA
70. Eugene Fisher, Saint Leo University, USA
71. Owen Fiss, Yale University, USA
72. Dominique Fougeyrollas, CEDREF-Université Paris Cité, France
73. Francis Fukuyama, Stanford University, USA
74. Alain Gabon, Virginia Wesleyan University, USA
75. Jasmine Gani, University of St. Andrews, UK
76. Fawaz Gerges, London School of Economics, UK
77. Burhan Ghalioun, Université de Paris III Sorbonne, France
78. Naser Ghobadzadeh, National School of Arts, Australian Catholic University, Australia
79. Christos Gianno, Queen Mary, University of London, Greece
80. Farah Godrej, University of California, Riverside, USA
81. Ana Gomez , World Movement for Democracy, Portugal
82. Bosco Govantes, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain
83. Sharan Grewal, College of William & Mary, USA
84. Frank Griffel, Yale University, USA
85. Nate Grubman, Stanford University , USA
86. Adel Guitouni, University of Victoria, Cananda
87. Yvonne Haddad, Georgetown University, USA
88. Emir Hadzikadunic, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, Bosnia and Herzegovina
89. Farid Hafez, Williams College, USA
90. Shadi Hamid, Brookings Center, USA
91. Sadek Hamid, University of Wales Trinity St David, UK
92. Sari Hanafi, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
93. Nader Hashemi, University of Denver, USA
94. Robert W. Hefner, Boston University, USA
95. Peter Heine, Humboldt University, Germany
96. Donald L. Horowitz, Duke University, USA
97. Ajdin Huseinspahic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
98. Adnan Ismaili, Tetova State University, Republic of North Macedonia
99. Metin Izeti, University of Tetovo, Republic of North Macedonia
100. Rula Jebreal, University of Miami, USA
101. David Johnston, Fuller Seminary, St. Joseph’s University, USA
102. Aissa Kadri, Paris 8 University , France
103. Joseph Kaminski, International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
104. Kristen Kao, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
105. Amir Karić, University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
106. John Keane, University of Sydney, Australia
107. Laleh Khalili, University of London, UK
108. Muqtedar Khan, University of Delaware, USA
109. Rabea Khan, Liverpool John Moore’s university, UK
110. Rami Khouri, Harvard Kennedy School, USA
111. Ivan Ejub Kostic, University of Belgrade, Serbia
112. Milazim Krasniqi, University of Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo
113. Andreas Krieg, Kings College London, UK
114. Anthony Kronman, Yale University, USA
115. Ahmet Kuru, San Diego State University, USA
116. Lilia Labidi, Wilson Center, USA
117. Stephane Lacroix, Sciences Po, Paris, France
118. Ziber Lata, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
119. Brynjar Lia, University of Oslo, Norway
120. Laurence Louër, Sciences Po Paris, France
121. Ellen Lust , University of Gothenburg, Sweden
122. David Mack, Atlantic Council, USA
123. Chibli Mallat, University of Utah, USA
124. Andrew March, University of Massachusetts, USA
125. Monica Marks, New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE
126. Pietro Marzo, TELUQ University, Canada
127. Nadia Marzouki, Sciences Po, Paris, France
128. Safwan Masri, Georgetown University, USA
129. Elisa Massimino, Georgetown University , USA
130. Emy Matesan, Wesleyan University, USA
131. Zejni Mazllami, University of Tetovo, Republic of North Macedonia
132. Rory McCarthy, Durham University, UK
133. Michael McFaul, Stanford University, USA
134. Oliver McTernan, Forward Thinking, UK
135. Hanny Megally, New York University, USA
136. Juan E Méndez, Washington College of Law, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, USA
137. Tariq Modood, University of Bristol, UK
138. Clement H. Moore, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
139. Ebrahim Moosa, University of Notre Dame Indiana, USA
140. Fabiola Mota Consejero, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
141. Marwan Muasher, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA
142. Hadia Mubarak, Queens University of Charlotte, USA
143. Emma Murphy, Durham University , UK
144. Basheer Nafi, Author and historian, UK
145. Shuruq Naguib, Lancaster University, UK
146. Véronique Nahoum-Grappe, EHESS, France , France
147. Robin Niblett, The Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), UK
148. Anne Norton, University of Pennsylvania, USA
149. Elizabeth Nugent, Princeton University , USA
150. Esam Omeish, Libyan American Alliance, USA
151. Ali Pajaziti, South-East European University, Republic of North Macedonia
152. Konrad Pedziwiatr, Cracow University of Economics, Poland
153. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Former Minister for Human Rights, Brazil
154. Ana I. Planet, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
155. Walaa Quisay, University of Edinburgh, UK
156. Intisar Rabb, Harvard University , USA
157. Lily Z. Rahim, Georgetown University, USA
158. Sukri Ramic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
159. Glenn Robinson, University of California Berkeley, USA
160. Olivier Roy, European University Institute, Italy
161. Sara Roy, Harvard University, USA
162. Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
163. Irwan Saidin, Durham University, UK
164. Yezid Sayigh, Carnegie Middle East Center, USA
165. Salman Sayyid, University of Leeds, UK
166. Marc Schade-Poulsen, Roskilde University, Denmark
167. Isabel Schaefer, Humboldt University, Germany
168. Philippe Schmitter, European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole (FI), Italy
169. Giuseppe Scognamiglio, EastWest European Institute, Italy
170. Chiara Sebastiani, University of Bologna, Italy
171. Ahmed Shaheed, University of Essex, UK
172. Samer Shehata, University of Oklahoma, USA
173. Ermin Sinanovic, Shenandoah University, USA
174. Abdulkader Sinno, Indiana University, USA
175. Tamara Sonn, Georgetown University, USA
176. Kian Tajbakhsh, Columbia University , US
177. Azzam Tamimi, Author of “Ghannouchi, a Democrat within Islamism”, UK
178. Charles Taylor, McGill University, Canada
179. Elizabeth F. Thompson, American University, Washington DC, USA
180. Charles Tripp, School of Oriental and African Studies London, UK
181. Olav Utvik, University of Oslo, Norway
182. Abdool Karim Vakil, Kings College London, UK
183. Robert Vitalis, University of Pennsylvania, USA
184. Ward Vloeberghs, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
185. John Voll, Georgetown University, USA
186. David Warren, Washington University in St. Louis, USA
187. Lynn Welchman, School of Oriental and African Studies, UK
188. Sarah Whitson, DAWN, USA
189. Michael Willis, University of Oxford, UK
190. Anne Wolf, University of Oxford, UK
191. Halil Ibrahim Yenigun, University of Virginia, USA
192. Sarah Yerkes, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA
193. Maro Youssef, University of Southern California, USA
194. Mathilde Zederman, Free University of Brussels, Belgium
195. Melisa Zigonja-Peljto, Center for Education and Research Nahla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sumbul Ali-Karamali
Fabio Merone, University of Laval, Canada
Annelies Moors, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Mohamed-Ali Adraoui, Radboud University, the Netherlands
Arwa Shobaki, Project on Middle East Democracy, US
Rabbi Arthur Waskow…
Lindsay Benstead, Portland State University, US
Chedley Aouriri, Tunisian American Association, US
Jeffrey Kenney, DePauw University, US
Robert O. Freedman, John Hopkins University, US
Mahmoud Sadri, Texas Woman’s University, US
Carolyn Forché, Georgetown University, US
Marco Giuseppe Toma, Ascheri Academy, Italy
Kenneth J. Perkins, University of South Carolina, US
Douglas Magnuson, Council of Christian Colleges and Universities, US
Rosemary Sayigh…
Valeria Resta, University of Milan, Italy
Charles L. Daris, retired former senior US Diplomat, Department of State, US
Jasmin Moco, Law Faculty, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Jabeur Fathally, University of Ottawa, Canada
Charles E. Butterworth, University of Maryland, US
Mohsen Kadivar, Duke University, US
Melisa Žigonja-Peljto, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Muharem Adilovic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ajla Muratović, University if Zenica
Sead Turčalo, University of Sarajevo
Zlatan Begic, School of Law, University of Tuzla and MP Parliament Bosnia and Herzegovina
