On January 31, 2023, Police forces arrested Union Activist of the Tunisian General Labor Union and Secretary-General of the Private Union of Tunisia Highways, Anis Kaabi, due to a complaint filed against him by the General Administration of Tunisia Highways Company, accusing him of causing financial losses for the company. This is following his statements regarding the sector-wide strike by the Highways Union on 30 and 31st January, demanding to renew the concession agreement for the “A1” Hammam-lif-Msaken Highway. The authorities did not only arrest Anis Kaabi, as on the evening of January 31, 2023, in the National Guard Barracks Headquarters in L’Aouina,  President Kais Saied stated that “Trade union rights are guaranteed by the constitution, but they cannot be turned into a cover for political ambitions that are no longer hidden from anyone,” according to him. He also compared this strike to a form of road blockade or the threat thereof. He warned that anyone engaging in such actions would not escape accountability, as stated by him. In a clarifying statement issued by the Court of First Instance through the Office of Media and Communications on February 1, 2023, It was confirmed that the Sub-Directorate of Criminal Affairs, affiliated with the Judicial Police Department, had been tasked with investigating two complaints filed by the legal representative of Tunisian Highway Company against one the company’s employees and that Anis Kaabi was detained following his interrogation, and the investigation is going. It was further noted that the complaint against Anis dates back to the 30th of January, and it alleged that one of the company’s employees deliberately exploited his position and announced on radio programs that the payment toll booth operators would go on strike. He also mentioned raising the barriers at all toll stations to allow vehicles to pass without paying the required fees as part of the escalation if their demands were not met and called on highway users to pass for free.

On February 2, 2022, Anis Kaabi was imprisoned by virtue of a warrant issued by the investigating judge at the Court of First Instances in Tunis.