TUNISIANS took to the streets of central Tunis on Saturday over President Kais Saied’s increasingly authoritarian rule and demanded the release of all political prisoners.

The Against Injustice rally brought together families of political detainees and activists from different ideological backgrounds.

The demonstration drew more than 1,000 protesters chanting anti-regime slogans, including: “No fear no terror, the street belongs to the people.”

The protest came as part of a broader surge in protests nationwide over political and economic turmoil.

Protesters also called out President Saied’s interference in the judiciary and accused him of using the police to target political opponents.

Ayoub Amara, one of the organisers, said on Saturday that the protest aimed to highlight the plight of those held in Tunisian prisons for their political opinions.

He said: “All the progress of the past 14 years has been overturned,” referring to the results of the “Arab spring,” which began in Tunisia in December 2010.

Monia Brahim, the wife of jailed opposition figure Abdelhamid Jlassi, said: “Political prisoners know for a fact that they are in prison to pay the price for their principles, their constitutional right for civil and political activism, and are being held hostage by the regime established today in Tunisia.”