The following is a petition started by the Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy and endorsed by Reset DOC. To sign it, click here. 

We, the undersigned scholars, former government officials, parliamentarians, diplomats, human rights advocates, religious leaders, and members of civil society, call for the immediate release of Rached Ghannouchi and all individuals imprisoned in Tunisia solely for the peaceful exercise of their political opinions, civic activities, or freedom of expression.

We make this appeal not because we necessarily share Mr. Ghannouchi’s political views or partisan affiliations.

We make it because democracy, human rights, and the rule of law require it.

For more than five decades, Rached Ghannouchi has been one of the most important advocates of peaceful political participation, democratic governance, and national dialogue in Tunisia and the Arab world. He endured imprisonment, persecution, and more than twenty years of exile under successive authoritarian governments. Yet throughout his life, he consistently rejected violence and embraced democratic engagement.

Following Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, Ghannouchi became one of the principal architects of the country’s democratic transition. At moments of deep political polarization, he repeatedly chose compromise over confrontation, dialogue over exclusion, and national unity over partisan advantage.

Under his leadership, Tunisia adopted one of the Arab world’s most democratic constitutions, protected political pluralism, and demonstrated that peaceful coexistence between citizens of different political and ideological convictions was possible.

Whether one agrees with all of his views is beside the point. The proper response to political disagreement in a democracy is debate, elections, and peaceful competition, not imprisonment.

Today, the continued detention of Tunisia’s most prominent opposition leader raises serious concerns about political freedom, judicial independence, and democratic governance. It also undermines one of the most important lessons of Tunisia’s democratic experience: that inclusion, dialogue, and compromise are stronger foundations for stability than repression and exclusion.

History will remember Rached Ghannouchi as one of the key figures of Tunisia’s democratic transition and one of the leading Muslim democratic thinkers of his generation. His contributions to political pluralism, democratic participation, and national reconciliation deserve recognition, not imprisonment.

We therefore call upon the Tunisian authorities to:

– Immediately release Rached Ghannouchi.

– Release all individuals detained solely for peaceful political activity or expression.

– Respect freedom of expression, political participation, and judicial independence.

– Reopen the space for peaceful democratic dialogue and political competition.

Tunisia’s future will be strengthened not by the imprisonment of political opponents, but by a renewed commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

Initial Signatories

Radwan Masmoudi, President, Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy

Omar Shakir, Executive Director, DAWN

Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institutuon and Freeman Spogli Institute, Stanford University

John Esposito, Distinguished University Professor, Geogretown University

Bahey Hassan, Co-founder of the human rights movement in Egypt

Charles Butterworth, Emeritus Professor University of Maryland, College

Mark LeVine, Professor of History and Islamic studies

Juan Cole, Professor, University of Michigan

Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, President, Minaret of Freedom Institute

Scott Alexander, Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, Catholic Theological Union

Farid Hafez, Associate Teaching Professor of International Relations, College of William & Mary

Mohammad Kamali, Professor, Dato, Dr, (formerly Founding CEO of )The International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

Nader Hashemi, Associate Professor of Middle East Politics, Georgetown University

Ermin Sinanovic, Executive Director, Center for Islam in the Contemporary World

Former Heads of State and Government

Former Foreign Ministers and Diplomats

Members of Parliament

Scholars and University Leaders

Human Rights Defenders

Religious Leaders

Journalists and Public Intellectuals

Democracy and Civil Society Advocates

To sign it, click here. 

Cover photo: Protesters raise a placard bearing a portrait of the former speaker of the Tunisian parliament and president of the Islamist-leaning Ennahdha Party, Rached Ghannouchi, during a demonstration organized by the Families of Political Prisoners Coordination Committee in Tunis, Tunisia, on February 14, 2026. The demonstration, bringing together families of detainees, members of opposition parties, and human rights organizations, marks three years since the detention of critics of Tunisian President Kais Saied in the case known as the ”conspiracy against state security.” (Photo by Chedly Ben Ibrahim / NurPhoto via AFP)