Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets of the capital on 17 October in the largest protest against coup leader Kais Saied in years, in a rare show of unity among political parties and civil society groups.

Human rights reports confirmed recurring inmate fatalities because extreme heatwaves severely exacerbated the chronic overcrowding inside deteriorated Tunisian detention centers.

“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.”