Tunisia: Authorities impose silence around political trial

Could the release of certain prisoners of conscience promise a new phase in which the regime decides to let up on its policy of repression? Nothing is less certain. Paranoia around the case involving those accused of “plotting to undermine national security”—a trial which opened with a remote hearing and which authorities have attempted to bury under an imposed media blackout—does not bode well.

Kais Saied cracks down, cementing second term in office

Kais Saied was reelected as Tunisia’s president in the first round of elections. His Soviet-like score of 90.69% must not obscure record voter abstention rates: more than 7 out of 10 Tunisians—and more than 94% of Tunisian youth—did not turn out to vote. While there is no evidence that massive fraud took place on election day, the entire electoral process was marked by repressive tactics aiming to cement Saied’s second term in office. Recap of the past election year and the crackdown which ensured the outgoing president’s victory at the polls.

Tunisian forests: Going up in flames

Over the past decade, a drastic increase in the number of wildfires has jeopardized the livelihood of nearly one million Tunisians. All of the forests spanning the governorate of Bizerte in the north-most tip of the country, to the governorates of Beja and Kef in the northwest, to still others in the center and northeast—overall more than a third of the country’s total surface area—are impacted by the fires.

Migration: The Wretched of the Borders

The Mediterranean is becoming a graveyard as Europe looks to outsource the management of its borders, dealing out bribes to countries at its southern and eastern gateways. Stripped of their humanity, migrants are reduced to grim statistics. Journalists within the network Independent Media on the Arab World present readers with a series of articles exposing the exorbitant price paid by concerned populations, against their will.