“Nafas” has emerged as a civic and political movement bringing together political and rights figures across party and ideological lines, while pursuing a different tactical approach from the opposition movements that emerged after Saied’s July 25, 2021, coup.

Tunisia’s social and political landscape is being gripped by mounting anger over a string of measures by coup leader Kais Saied’s regime, including policies affecting the medical and pharmaceutical sectors and public health.

As Tunisians endure electricity outages in the middle of a record breaking heat wave, coup leader Kais Saied’s system continues to lean on the language of “national sovereignty,” “self reliance,” and what it calls a “war of liberation.”

Since seizing sweeping powers in 2021, Tunisian coup leader Kais Saied has repeatedly drawn criticism over court rulings that have eroded civil liberties and the rule of law.

Tunisia is experiencing a dark political period under Kais Saied's rule, prompting a number of prominent political and human rights figures to issue a call for change from within their prison cells.