On Thursday , the European Parliament called on the Tunisian authorities to "immediately release" the journalist and director of a private radio station , Noureddine Boutar , and "other arbitrarily detained persons," condemning the "authoritarian approach" of President Kais Saied.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution Thursday, by a wide majority, in which it expressed "deep concern about President Saied's authoritarian approach and his exploitation of the disastrous social and economic situation in Tunisia to overturn the course of the country's historic democratic transition."
He also called on members of the European Parliament to "end the ongoing repression against civil society organisations."

They urged EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and member states to publicly denounce the serious deterioration in the human rights situation in Tunisia, and called for the suspension of EU support programs for the Ministries of Justice and Interior.

In early February, the Tunisian authorities launched a campaign of arrests against personalities, including former ministers and well-known businessmen such as Kamal Latif and Noureddine Boutar, director of the private and most followed radio station "Mosaique FM" in Tunisia.
The president describes the detainees as "terrorists" and accuses them of "conspiring against the internal and external security of the state."

Amnesty International considered the campaign of arrests, unprecedented since Saied's monopoly of the authorities on July 25, 2021, "politically motivated."

In addition, the European Parliament strongly condemned, in its decision, "President Said's racist speech against immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa and the attacks that followed."

On February 21, the Tunisian Presidency published a communiqué containing statements by Saied confirming the presence of "hordes" of illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan African countries and accusing them of being a source of "violence and crime" as part of a "criminal project" aimed at "changing the demographic composition" of Tunisia. .

Saeed's statements sparked controversy in the country, many immigrants were attacked, and hundreds were deported to their countries.