Dozens of academics and public figures sign an open letter calling on the Tunisian authorities to release the head of the Ennahda Movement, Rashid Ghannouchi, and all political prisoners in the country.
A letter from more than 70 academics and public figures including the Executive Director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), Sarah Leah Whitson, have urged European and American powers to support pro-democracy Tunisians resisting the ongoing dictatorship. The letter was created in part by Soumaya Ghannoushi, whose father, the Tunisian opposition leader, Rached Ghannouchi, was sentenced to a year in jail this week on May 14, 2023.
The full text of the letter can be read below.
Open Letter: Call for the Release of Rached Ghannouchi and All Political Prisoners in Tunisia
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.
Signatories are listed below.
| 1 | Rushain Abbasi, Stanford University, USA |
| 2 | Deina Abdelkader, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA |
| 3 | Khaled Abou El Fadl, University of California Los Angeles, USA |
| 4 | Samir Abu Rumman, Princeton University, USA |
| 5 | José Abu Tarbush, Universidad de La Laguna, Spain |
| 6 | Amna Afreen, Georgetown University USA |
| 7 | Reza Afshari, Pace University, New York, USA |
| 8 | Nadia Ahmad, Barry University, USA |
| 9 | Shabbir Akhtar, University of Oxford, UK |
| 10 | Khalil al-Anani, Arab Center Washington, USA |
| 11 | Abdullah Al-Arian, Georgetown University , USA |
| 12 | Lubaaba Al-Azami, University of Liverpool, UK |
| 13 | Usaama Al-Azami, University of Oxford, UK |
| 14 | Salam Al-Marayati, Bayan Claremont Graduate School, USA |
| 15 | Aline Alencar, University of Brasília, Brazil |
| 16 | Rashad Ali, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UK |
| 17 | Ahmet Alibašić, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 18 | Madawi Alrasheed, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK |
| 19 | Anas Altikriti, Cordoba Foundation, UK |
| 20 | Ovamir Anjum, University of Toledo, USA |
| 21 | Walter Armbrust, University of Oxford, UK |
| 22 | Abbas Aroua, Cordoba Peace Institute – Geneva, Switzerland |
| 23 | Paola Bacchetta, University of California, Berkeley, USA |
| 24 | Suleyman Baki, University of Tetova, Republic of North Macedonia |
| 25 | Aslı Bâli, Yale University, USA |
| 26 | Ismail Bardhi, Faculty of Islamic Sciences in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia |
| 27 | Eva Bellin, Brandeis University, USA |
| 28 | Sylvia I. Bergh, Erasmus University Rotterdam |
| 29 | Yahya Birt, Ayaan Institute, London , UK |
| 30 | Laurent Bonnefoy, Sciences Po, Paris, France |
| 31 | Michaelle L. Browers, Wake Forest University, USA |
| 32 | Jonathan Brown, Georgetown University, USA |
| 33 | Katherine Bullock, University of Toronto, Canada |
| 34 | François Burgat, Institut de recherches et d'études sur le monde arabe et musulman, Aix-en-Provence, France |
| 35 | Charles E. Butterworth, University of Maryland, USA |
| 36 | Jocelyne Cesari, Georgetown University, USA |
| 37 | Noam Chomsky, University of Arizona, USA |
| 38 | Youssef Chouhoud, Christopher Newport University, USA |
| 39 | Sarah Cliffe, New York University |
| 40 | Juan Cole, University of Michigan, USA |
| 41 | Fabiola Mota Consejero, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain |
| 42 | Pieter Coppens, Vrije Universitet Amsterdam, Holland |
| 43 | Omar Dajani , University of the Pacific, USA |
| 44 | Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, Université de Paris-Cité, France |
| 45 | Sedad Dedic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 46 | Yasser M.Dhouib, Canadian Observatory for Rights and Freedoms CORF, Canada |
| 47 | Larry Diamond, Stanford University , USA |
| 48 | Susan Douglass, Georgetown University, USA |
| 49 | Michelle Dunne, Franciscan Action Network, USA |
| 50 | Baudoin Dupret, Sciences Po Bordeaux, France |
| 51 | Enes Durmišević, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 52 | Alyaa Ebbiary, Durham University, UK |
| 53 | Reza Afshari, Pace University, New York, USA |
| 54 | Ahmed El Shamsy, University of Chicago, USA |
| 55 | Khadijah Elshayyal, University of Edinburgh, UK |
| 56 | Anver Emon, University of Toronto, Canada |
| 57 | John P. Entelis, Fordham University, USA |
| 58 | John Esposito, Georgetown University, USA |
| 59 | Roxanne Euben, University of Pennsylvania, USA |
| 60 | Mohammed Fadel, University of Toronto, Canada |
| 61 | Dalia Fahmy, Long Island University, USA |
| 62 | Jabeur Fathally, University of Ottawa, Canada |
| 63 | Eugene Fisher, Saint Leo University, USA |
| 64 | Owen Fiss, Yale University, USA |
| 65 | Dominique Fougeyrollas, CEDREF-Université Paris Cité, France |
| 66 | Francis Fukuyama, Stanford University, USA |
| 67 | Alain Gabon, Virginia Wesleyan University, USA |
| 68 | Jasmine Gani, University of St. Andrews, UK |
| 69 | Fawaz Gerges, London School of Economics, UK |
| 70 | Burhan Ghalioun, Université de Paris III Sorbonne, France |
| 71 | Christos Giannou, Queen Mary, University of London, UK |
| 72 | Farah Godrej, University of California, Riverside, USA |
| 73 | Ana Gomez, World Movement for Democracy, Portugal |
| 74 | Bosco Govantes, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain |
| 75 | Sharan Grewal, College of William & Mary, USA |
| 76 | 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) |
| 77 | Frank Griffel, Yale University, USA |
| 78 | Nate Grubman, Stanford University, USA |
| 79 | Yvonne Haddad, Georgetown University, USA |
| 80 | Emir Hadzikadunic, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 81 | Farid Hafez, Williams College, USA |
| 82 | Sadek Hamid, University of Wales Trinity St David, U.K |
| 83 | Shadi Hamid, Brookings Center, USA |
| 84 | Sari Hanafi, American University of Beirut, Lebanon |
| 85 | Nader Hashemi, University of Denver, USA |
| 86 | Robert W. Hefner, Boston University, USA |
| 87 | Peter Heine, Humboldt University, Germany |
| 88 | Clement Moore Henry, University of Texas at Austin, USA |
| 89 | Donald L. Horowitz, Duke University, USA |
| 90 | Ajdin Huseinspahic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 91 | Adnan Ismaili, Tetova State University, Republic of North Macedonia |
| 92 | Metin Izeti, University of Tetovo, Republic of North Macedonia |
| 93 | Rula Jebreal, University of Miami, USA |
| 94 | David Johnston, Fuller Seminary, St. Joseph's University, USA |
| 95 | Aissa Kadri, Paris 8 University , France |
| 96 | Joseph Kaminski, International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 97 | Kristen Kao, University of Gothenburg, Sweden |
| 98 | Amir Karić, University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 99 | John Keane, University of Sydney, Australia |
| 100 | Laleh Khalili, Queen Mary, University of London, UK |
| 101 | Muqtedar Khan, University of Delaware, USA |
| 102 | Rabea Khan, Liverpool John Moore's university, UK |
| 103 | Rami Khouri, Harvard Kennedy School, USA |
| 104 | Ivan Ejub Kostic, University of Belgrade, Serbia |
| 105 | Milazim Krasniqi, University of Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo |
| 106 | Andreas Krieg, Kings College London, UK |
| 107 | Anthony Kronman, Yale University, USA |
| 108 | Ahmet Kuru, San Diego State University, USA |
| 109 | Lilia Labidi, Wilson Center, USA |
| 110 | Stephane Lacroix, Sciences Po, Paris, France |
| 111 | Ziber Lata, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia |
| 112 | Brynjar Lia, University of Oslo, Norway |
| 113 | Miguel Hernando de Larramendi, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain |
| 114 | Laurence Louër, Sciences Po Paris, France |
| 115 | Ellen Lust, University of Gothenburg, Sweden |
| 116 | David Mack, Atlantic Council, USA |
| 117 | Chibli Mallat, University of Utah, USA |
| 118 | Andrew March, University of Massachusetts, USA |
| 119 | Pietro Marzo, TELUQ University, Canada |
| 120 | Nadia Marzouki, Sciences Po, Paris, France |
| 121 | Safwan Masri, Georgetown University, USA |
| 122 | Elisa Massimino, Georgetown University, USA |
| 123 | Emy Matesan, Wesleyan University, USA |
| 124 | Zejni Mazllami, University of Tetovo, Republic of North Macedonia |
| 125 | Rory McCarthy, Durham University, UK |
| 126 | Michael McFaul, Stanford University, USA |
| 127 | Oliver McTernan, Forward Thinking, UK |
| 128 | Hanny Megally, New York University, USA |
| 129 | Juan E Méndez, Washington College of Law, USA; Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, 2010-2016 |
| 130 | Tariq Modood, University of Bristol, UK |
| 131 | Ebrahim Moosa, University of Notre Dame Indiana, USA |
| 132 | Marwan Muasher, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA |
| 133 | Hadia Mubarak, Queens University of Charlotte, USA |
| 134 | Emma Murphy, Durham University, UK |
| 135 | Basheer Nafi, Author and historian, UK |
| 136 | Shuruq Naguib, Lancaster University, UK |
| 137 | Véronique Nahoum-Grappe, L'École des hautes études en sciences sociales, France |
| 138 | Robin Niblett, The Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), UK |
| 139 | Anne Norton, University of Pennsylvania, USA |
| 140 | Elizabeth Nugent, Princeton University, USA |
| 141 | Dr Esam Omeish, Libyan American Alliance, USA |
| 142 | Ali Pajaziti, South-East European University, Republic of North Macedonia |
| 143 | Konrad Pedziwiatr, Cracow University of Economics, Poland |
| 144 | Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Former Minister for Human Rights, Brazil |
| 145 | Ana I. Planet, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain |
| 146 | Walaa Quisay, University of Edinburgh, UK |
| 147 | Intisar Rabb, Harvard University , USA |
| 148 | Lily Z. Rahim, Georgetown University, USA |
| 149 | Sukri Ramic, University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 150 | Glenn Robinson, University of California Berkeley, USA |
| 151 | Olivier Roy, European University Institute, Italy |
| 152 | Sara Roy, Harvard University, USA |
| 153 | Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK |
| 154 | Irwan Saidin, Durham University, UK |
| 155 | Yezid Sayigh, Carnegie Middle East Center, USA |
| 156 | Salman Sayyid, University of Leeds, UK |
| 157 | Isabel Schaefer, Humboldt University, Germany |
| 158 | Philippe Schmitter, European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole (FI), Italy |
| 159 | Giuseppe Scognamiglio, EastWest European Institute, Italy |
| 160 | Chiara Sebastiani, University of Bologna, Italy |
| 161 | Ahmed Shaheed, University of Essex, UK |
| 162 | Samer Shehata, University of Oklahoma, USA |
| 163 | Ermin Sinanovic, Shenandoah University, USA |
| 164 | Abdulkader Sinno, Indiana University, USA |
| 165 | Tamara Sonn, Georgetown University, USA |
| 166 | Kian Tajbakhsh, Columbia University, USA |
| 167 | Azzam Tamimi, Author of "Ghannouchi, a Democrat within Islamism", UK |
| 168 | Charles Taylor, McGill University, Canada |
| 169 | Elizabeth F. Thompson, American University, Washington DC, USA |
| 170 | Charles Tripp, School of Oriental and African Studies London, UK |
| 171 | Bjørn Olav Utvik, University of Oslo, Norway |
| 172 | Abdool Karim Vakil, Kings College London, UK |
| 173 | Robert Vitalis, University of Pennsylvania, USA |
| 174 | Ward Vloeberghs, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Holland |
| 175 | John Voll, Georgetown University, USA |
| 176 | David Warren, Washington University in St. Louis, USA |
| 177 | Lynn Welchman, School of Oriental and African Studies, UK |
| 178 | Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN, USA |
| 179 | Michael Willis, University of Oxford, UK |
| 180 | Anne Wolf, University of Oxford, UK |
| 181 | Halil Ibrahim Yenigun, University of Virginia, USA |
| 182 | Sarah Yerkes, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA |
| 183 | Maro Youssef, University of Southern California, USA |
| 184 | Mathilde Zederman, Free University of Brussels, Belgium |
| 185 | Melisa Zigonja-Peljto, Center for Education and Research Nahla, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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