Ayachi Hammami, a well-known opposition figure and human rights lawyer in Tunisia, was arrested at his home near Tunis, marking a new phase in the country's crackdown on dissent. Hammami and dozens of others, including opposition leaders, activists, and journalists, were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on charges widely condemned by rights groups as politically motivated. After his arrest, Hammami released a video denouncing his imprisonment as a political decision and announced a hunger strike in protest. Once celebrated as the birthplace of the Arab Spring and a rare democratic success in the region, Tunisia has seen a steady return to autocratic rule under President Kais Saied, with increasing repression of political opponents and civil society.