Tunisian police release journalist who filmed critic’s arrest
Tunisian police have released a photojournalist detained in a May 13th police raid on the country’s lawyers’ bar headquarters, according to The New Arab. The May 13th raid followed another on May 11th, in which prominent lawyer and regime critic Sonia Dahmani was detained with two journalists. The raids come amid a general crackdown on decent in Tunisia ahead of the country’s upcoming presidential election.
Yacine Mahjoub was released late on May 14th by Tunisian police, after being held at the Aouina barracks in Tunis.
“What is worse than the arrest is the erasure of my photos,” said Mahjoub.
Mahjoub was arrested while taking pictures of Tunisian security forces to arrest prominent lawyer Mahdi Zagouba who, like Sonia Dahmani, is known for his opposition to President Kais Saied.
READ: Tunisia: Three Saied critics arrested in police raid
Dahmani said in a recent TV appearance that life in Tunisia is “unpleasant,” prompting her arrest under Decree 54, which outlaws “spreading false news.”
In reaction, Tunisia’s bar association declared a nationwide strike, with thousands attending May 13th protests.
The country’s interior ministry said “the judicial decision against Zagrouba was due to his physical and verbal assault on two policemen” during a protest near the courtroom on May 13th.
Jihaan Louati, a member of the executive office of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) told The New Arab that the circumstances require “caution to prevent Tunisian media from slipping back into the control of the authorities,” after gains med in the country’s 2011 revolution.
Tunisia’s crackdown on decent has also targeted anti-racism activists, like the recently arrested Saadia Mosbah, whom the president has claimed are “traitors who recive money to destabilise the state.”
READ: Tunisia detains prominent migrants’ rights activist
Outspoken anti-racism activists, Ghofran Binous and Fatima Ezzahra Ltifi, were also purportedly summoned for questioning on May 14th over undisclosed allegations.
The EU has expressed concern over recent arrests, arguing that freedom of expression and association constitute the basis of its partnership with the Saied regime, with US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel stating on May 14th that they were “inconsistent with what we think are universal rights that are explicitly guaranteed in the Tunisian constitution,” according to Reuters.
Many of Saied’s critics, however, perceive the EU as an accomplice in his anti-migrant policy and crackdown against critical voices, as the bloc continues to negotiate migration deals despite ostensibly racist and authoritarian policies.
The New Arab / Reuters
