Tunisia · Saturday, 25 July 2026
Saied pardons 2,439 prisoners before Republic Day, including his 2024 election rival
A Presidency communique on July 23 said Kais Saied had granted an exceptional pardon to 2,439 detainees to mark the 69th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic, and had instructed that 490 more be released on parole. Kapitalis and Webdo, citing Mosaique FM and Ayachi Zammel's own Facebook page, reported that the former MP who stood against Saied in the 2024 presidential election was among those freed, alongside Wadie Jary, the former head of the Tunisian Football Federation. Neither communique states what the pardoned were convicted of or on what criteria the list was drawn up; national-day clemency is a recurring instrument in Tunisia rather than a signal of a change of course.