About two hundred academics, university professors, and thinkers spent a petition calling on the authorities in Tunisia to release political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, following the campaign it launched to arrest the most prominent actors and those interested in public affairs.
Petition text
As Tunisia, once one of the region’s most promising democratization paths, faces an onslaught that threatens to send it back to the dark ages of dictatorship, Tunisian democrats are fighting back and bravely defending their hard-won freedom. As opposition leaders make progress in rallying into a diverse, broad, unified front working to restore democracy, they face a massive campaign of arbitrary arrests, politically motivated accusations, demonization and intimidation.
All believers in the shared values of freedom and democracy around the world should stand with them in their struggle for freedom.
Among the most prominent and last of those subjected to arbitrary arrest was Rashid Ghannouchi, who was democratically elected speaker of the Tunisian parliament that was dissolved in an unconstitutional manner by President Kais Saied. Ghannouchi was arrested on the seventeenth of April 2023, thus joining dozens of opposition leaders who were behind bars in prisons. The charges against him, as with other opposition leaders, are a desperate attempt to root out one of the loudest voices resisting the destruction of democracy in Tunisia and divert attention away from the deep political, economic and social crises plaguing the country.
We, the undersigned academics and public figures, express our solidarity with Mr. Ghannouchi and all Tunisian democrats who have been imprisoned or unjustly tried, and call on the Tunisian authorities to release all political prisoners in Tunisia.
Mr. Ghannouchi is eighty-one years old, and he is known as one of the most prominent advocates of democracy in the Arab world and of Islamic democracy. He has always been one of the most important symbols of moderation and one of the voices denouncing extremism. He was also known for his approach that calls for building consensus and consensus, and for his constant call for dialogue and unity between the components of the political, intellectual and ideological spectrum, which is what Tunisia and the entire region needs more than ever before. Depriving Tunisia, the region and the world of one of the most prominent voices of moderation and democracy is a huge loss that transcends Tunisia’s borders to the corners of the earth.
The arrest of Mr. Ghannouchi is part of a widespread political targeting operation that has purely political motives, as stated in a statement by Amnesty International. The Tunisian authorities have launched an arbitrary campaign to arrest and prosecute leaders of democratic political parties, representatives of civil society, trade unionists, judges, and journalists. Most of them face the same charge of “conspiracy against state security,” and that is only because of their defense of Tunisian democracy.
We call on the Tunisian authorities to release all political prisoners, and to respect freedoms and human rights in Tunisia.
List of signatures
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, University of California Los Angeles, 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 Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Minaret of Freedom Institute, USA
10 Nadia Ahmad, Barry University, USA
11 Shabbir Akhtar, University of Oxford, UK
12 Khalil al-Anani, Arab Center Washington, USA
13 Abdullah Al-Arian, Georgetown University , USA
14 Lubaaba Al-Azami, University of Liverpool, UK
15 Usaama Al-Azami, University of Oxford, UK
16 Salam Al-Marayati, Bayan Claremont Graduate School, USA
17 Aline Alencar, University of Brasília, Brazil
18 Rashad Ali, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UK
19 Ahmet Alibašić, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
20 Madawi Alrasheed, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
21 Anas Altikriti, Cordoba Foundation, UK
22 Mahmoud Annakoua, Author and former Ambassador of Libya, UK
23 Ovamir Anjum, University of Toledo, USA
24 Walter Armbrust, University of Oxford, UK
25 Abbas Aroua, Cordoba Peace Institute – Geneva, Switzerland
26 Paola Bacchetta, University of California, Berkeley, USA
27 Suleyman Baki, University of Tetova, Republic of North Macedonia
28 Aslı Bâli, Yale University, USA
29 Ismail Bardhi, Faculty of Islamic Sciences in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
30 Eva Bellin, Brandeis University, USA
31 Sylvia I. Bergh, Erasmus University Rotterdam
32 Yahya Birt, Ayaan Institute, London , UK
33 Laurent Bonnefoy, Sciences Po, Paris, France
34 Michaelle L. Browers, Wake Forest University, USA
35 Jonathan Brown, Georgetown University, USA
36 Katherine Bullock, University of Toronto, Canada
37 François Burgat, Institut de recherches et d’études sur le monde arabe et musulman, Aix-en-
Provence, France
38 Charles E. Butterworth, University of Maryland, USA
39 Jocelyne Cesari, Georgetown University, USA
40 Souhail Chichah, Williams College, USA
41 Noam Chomsky, University of Arizona, USA
42 Cyra Akila Choudhury, Flordia International University College of Law, USA
43 Youssef Chouhoud, Christopher Newport University, USA
44 Sarah Cliffe, New York University
45 Juan Cole, University of Michigan, USA
46 Fabiola Mota Consejero, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
47 Pieter Coppens, Vrije Universitet Amsterdam, Holland
48 Omar Dajani , University of the Pacific, USA
49 Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, Université de Paris-Cité, France
50 Sedad Dedic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
51 Yasser M.Dhouib, Canadian Observatory for Rights and Freedoms CORF, Canada
52 Mona T. Diab, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
53 Larry Diamond, Stanford University , USA
54 Susan Douglass, Georgetown University, USA
55 Michelle Dunne, Franciscan Action Network, USA
56 Baudoin Dupret, Sciences Po Bordeaux, France
57 Enes Durmišević, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
58 Alyaa Ebbiary, Durham University, UK
59 Reza Afshari, Pace University, New York, USA
60 Ahmed El Shamsy, University of Chicago, USA
61 Khadijah Elshayyal, University of Edinburgh, UK
62 Anver Emon, University of Toronto, Canada
63 John P. Entelis, Fordham University, USA
64 John Esposito, Georgetown University, USA
65 Roxanne Euben, University of Pennsylvania, USA
66 Mohammed Fadel, University of Toronto, Canada
67 Dalia Fahmy, Long Island University, USA
68 Jabeur Fathally, University of Ottawa, Canada
69 Eugene Fisher, Saint Leo University, USA
70 Owen Fiss, Yale University, USA
71 Dominique Fougeyrollas, CEDREF-Université Paris Cité, France
72 Francis Fukuyama, Stanford University, USA
73 Alain Gabon, Virginia Wesleyan University, USA
74 Jasmine Gani, University of St. Andrews, UK
75 Marta Garcia de Paredes, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain
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 Giannou, Queen Mary, University of London, UK
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 Pablo de Grieff, New York University, USA; First UN Special Rapporteur for the promotion of
truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence (2012-2018)
85 Frank Griffel, Yale University, USA
86 Nate Grubman, Stanford University, USA
87 Adel Guitouni, University of Victoria, Cananda
88 Yvonne Haddad, Georgetown University, USA
89 Emir Hadzikadunic, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, Bosnia and Herzegovina
90 Farid Hafez, Williams College, USA
91 Sadek Hamid, University of Wales Trinity St David, U.K
92 Shadi Hamid, Brookings Center, USA
93 Sari Hanafi, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
94 Nader Hashemi, University of Denver, USA
95 Robert W. Hefner, Boston University, USA
96 Peter Heine, Humboldt University, Germany
97 Clement Moore Henry, University of Texas at Austin, USA
98 Donald L. Horowitz, Duke University, USA
99 Ajdin Huseinspahic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
100 Adnan Ismaili, Tetova State University, Republic of North Macedonia
101 Metin Izeti, University of Tetovo, Republic of North Macedonia
102 Rula Jebreal, University of Miami, USA
103 David Johnston, Fuller Seminary, St. Joseph’s University, USA
104 Aissa Kadri, Paris 8 University , France
105 Joseph Kaminski, International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
106 Kristen Kao, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
107 Amir Karić, University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
108 John Keane, University of Sydney, Australia
109 Laleh Khalili, Queen Mary, University of London, UK
110 Muqtedar Khan, University of Delaware, USA
111 Rabea Khan, Liverpool John Moore’s university, UK
112 Rami Khouri, Harvard Kennedy School, USA
113 Ivan Ejub Kostic, University of Belgrade, Serbia
114 Milazim Krasniqi, University of Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo
115 Andreas Krieg, Kings College London, UK
116 Anthony Kronman, Yale University, USA
117 Ahmet Kuru, San Diego State University, USA
118 Lilia Labidi, Wilson Center, USA
119 Stephane Lacroix, Sciences Po, Paris, France
120 Ziber Lata, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
121 Brynjar Lia, University of Oslo, Norway
122 Miguel Hernando de Larramendi, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
123 Laurence Louër, Sciences Po Paris, France
124 Ellen Lust, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
125 David Mack, Atlantic Council, USA
126 Chibli Mallat, University of Utah, USA
127 Andrew March, University of Massachusetts, USA
128 Monica Marks, New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE
129 Pietro Marzo, TELUQ University, Canada
130 Nadia Marzouki, Sciences Po, Paris, France
131 Safwan Masri, Georgetown University, USA
132 Elisa Massimino, Georgetown University, USA
133 Emy Matesan, Wesleyan University, USA
134 Zejni Mazllami, University of Tetovo, Republic of North Macedonia
135 Rory McCarthy, Durham University, UK
136 Michael McFaul, Stanford University, USA
137 Oliver McTernan, Forward Thinking, UK
138 Hanny Megally, New York University, USA
139 Juan E Méndez, Washington College of Law, USA; Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture,
2010-2016
140 Tariq Modood, University of Bristol, UK
141 Ebrahim Moosa, University of Notre Dame Indiana, USA
142 Marwan Muasher, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA
143 Hadia Mubarak, Queens University of Charlotte, USA
144 Emma Murphy, Durham University, UK
145 Basheer Nafi, Author and historian, UK
146 Shuruq Naguib, Lancaster University, UK
147 Véronique Nahoum-Grappe, L’École des hautes études en sciences sociales, France
148 Robin Niblett, The Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), UK
149 Anne Norton, University of Pennsylvania, USA
150 Elizabeth Nugent, Princeton University, USA
151 Dr Esam Omeish, Libyan American Alliance, USA
152 Ali Pajaziti, South-East European University, Republic of North Macedonia
153 Konrad Pedziwiatr, Cracow University of Economics, Poland
154 Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Former Minister for Human Rights, Brazil
155 Ana I. Planet, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
156 Walaa Quisay, University of Edinburgh, UK
157 Intisar Rabb, Harvard University , USA
158 Lily Z. Rahim, Georgetown University, USA
159 Sukri Ramic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
160 Glenn Robinson, University of California Berkeley, USA
161 Olivier Roy, European University Institute, Italy
162 Sara Roy, Harvard University, USA
163 Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
164 Irwan Saidin, Durham University, UK
165 Yezid Sayigh, Carnegie Middle East Center, USA
166 Salman Sayyid, University of Leeds, UK
167 Marc Schade-Poulsen, Roskilde University, Denmark
168 Isabel Schaefer, Humboldt University, Germany
169 Philippe Schmitter, European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole (FI), Italy
170 Giuseppe Scognamiglio, EastWest European Institute, Italy
171 Chiara Sebastiani, University of Bologna, Italy
172 Ahmed Shaheed, University of Essex, UK
173 Samer Shehata, University of Oklahoma, USA
174 Ermin Sinanovic, Shenandoah University, USA
175 Abdulkader Sinno, Indiana University, USA
176 Tamara Sonn, Georgetown University, USA
177 Kian Tajbakhsh, Columbia University, USA
178 Azzam Tamimi, Author of “Ghannouchi, a Democrat within Islamism”, UK
179 Charles Taylor, McGill University, Canada
180 Elizabeth F. Thompson, American University, Washington DC, USA
181 Charles Tripp, School of Oriental and African Studies London, UK
182 Bjørn Olav Utvik, University of Oslo, Norway
183 Abdool Karim Vakil, Kings College London, UK
184 Robert Vitalis, University of Pennsylvania, USA
185 Ward Vloeberghs, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Holland
186 John Voll, Georgetown University, USA
187 David Warren, Washington University in St. Louis, USA
188 Lynn Welchman, School of Oriental and African Studies, UK
189 Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN, USA
190 Michael Willis, University of Oxford, UK
191 Anne Wolf, University of Oxford, UK
192 Halil Ibrahim Yenigun, University of Virginia, USA
193 Sarah Yerkes, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA
194 Maro Youssef, University of Southern California, USA
195 Mathilde Zederman, Free University of Brussels, Belgium
196 Melisa Zigonja-Peljto, Center for Education and Research Nahla, Bosnia and Herzegovina