Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress makes the following findings: In 2010 and 2011, waves of anti-government protests and violence reshaped governments across the Middle East and North Africa. While other countries in the Middle East and North Africa experienced violent crackdown, rapid changes in government, or descent into civil war, Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution saw the ouster of autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the emergence of a nascent, growing democracy. On October 14, 2019, Tunisians overwhelmingly elected Kais Saied, a constitutional law professor, as President based on his pledges to combat corruption and improve Tunisia’s economic outlook.
On July 25, 2021, President Saied unilaterally suspended parliament and dismissed the Prime Minister, citing exceptional circumstances and Article 80 of the 2014 constitution. On September 22, 2021, President Saied issued Presidential Decree 117, consolidating full executive and legislative powers within the presidency and authorizing further decrees regulating the judiciary, media, political parties, electoral law, freedoms and human rights. On February 6, 2022, President Saied dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council, eliminating an independent judiciary.
On March 30, 2022, President Saied officially dissolved parliament, further consolidating power and eliminating checks and balances on the presidency. On June 30, 2022, President Saied unilaterally introduced a new draft constitution, subject to a referendum, consolidating broad powers under executive rule. On July 25, 2022, Saied claimed victory in a constitutional referendum widely criticized for its lack of credibility and participation. On September 13, 2022, President Saied announced Presidential Decree 2022–54 on Cybercrime, imposing prison terms for false information or rumors online and crippling free speech.
On September 15, 2022, President Saied announced Presidential Decree 2022–55 which weakened the role of political parties and imposed burdensome requirements to run for parliament. On October 15, 2022, the International Monetary Fund reached a staff-level agreement to support Tunisia’s economic policies with a 48-month arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility of $1,900,000,000 and the potential for more from international donors. On December 17, 2022, only 11 percent of Tunisians participated in parliamentary elections, reflecting dissatisfaction with the referendum, barriers to political parties, and low public trust for democratic institutions in Tunisia.
On January 20, 2023, 4 political opponents of President Saied were sentenced through military courts for insulting a public official and disturbing public order. On January 29, 2023, only 11 percent of Tunisians participated in parliamentary run-off elections, reaffirming low public trust for democratic institutions in Tunisia. On February 1, 2023, President Saied extended the state of emergency until the end of 2023. On February 10, 2023, President Saied announced strengthened diplomatic ties with the Government of Syria, a United States-designated State Sponsor of Terrorism.
On February 11, 2023, and in the following weeks, President Saied launched a political crackdown by arresting political activists, journalists, and business leaders for allegedly plotting against the state, including by opening a criminal investigation against a former Nidaa Tounes parliamentarian. On February 21, 2023, President Saied justified widespread arrests and harassment of African migrants and Black Tunisians by accusing hordes of irregular migrants of criminality and violence, claiming a criminal enterprise hatched at the beginning of this century to change the demographic composition of Tunisia threatened national security.
On February 22, 2023, Tunisian authorities arrested Republican Party leader Issam Chebbi and National Salvation Front member Chaima Issa. On February 24, 2023, Tunisian authorities arrested National Salvation Front member Jawher Ben Mbarek. On April 17, 2023, President Kais Saied vowed relentless war against opposition figures, jailed Ennahdha party leader Rached Ghannouchi, detained president of the National Salvation Front coalition Nejib Chebbi, and shuttered Ennahdha offices and those of an ideologically broad opposition coalition.
As of April 20, 2023, an International Monetary Fund loan for Tunisia remains stalled as President Saied’s characterized necessary reforms as foreign diktats and decried proposed cuts in subsidies as socially destabilizing.