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Tunisians Defy Ban on Gatherings to Protest Against the President Coup, Security Forces Kill a Protester, for the First Time

January 25, 2022

Demonstrators are hit by a water cannon during a protest in Tunis against Tunisian President Kais Saied's seizure of governing powers on January 14, 2022 afp

 

Tunisians defy ban on gatherings to protest against president in capital

AFP, 14/01/2022 - 20:33

Tunisian police used tear gas and water cannons on Friday to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who defied a ban on gatherings to protest against President Kais Saied's July power grab.

As the country marks 11 years since the late dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled into exile, police deployed heavily in central Tunis to counter anti-Saied rallies calling for an end to his "coup".

The protesters had gathered despite restrictions on gatherings imposed on Thursday as coronavirus cases surge in the North African country, but which Saied's opponents say are politically motivated.

AFP reporters saw over 1,000 protesters gathered on Mohamed V Avenue, but they were prevented from reaching the iconic Habib Bourguiba Avenue, epicentre of the vast protests that toppled Ben Ali in 2011.

Some demonstrators broke through a police cordon before police baton charges and tear gas and water cannons pushed them back. 

AFP reporters saw dozens of arrests.

"It's the most violent intervention by security forces we've seen in the past year, both in terms of the methods used and the number of arrests," said Fathi Jarai, president of the independent anti-torture body the INPT.

Some protesters had chanted "down with the coup!", a reference to Saied's July 25 moves in which he sacked the government, froze parliament and seized a range of powers.

He has since virtually ruled by decree, to the outrage of his opponents, including the powerful Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party.

Some Tunisians, tired of the inept and graft-ridden parliamentary system, welcomed his moves. 

But for his critics, both among Ennahdha members and on the left, they foreshadowed a possible return to the same kind of autocratic practices that were common under Ben Ali.

Prominent human rights activist Sihem Bensedrine, who headed the now-defunct Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD), accused authorities of taking away Tunisians' right to protest and threatening the country's "hard-won freedom".

"We're here to defend the institutions of the republic," she said. 

"This people, which toppled a 23-year dictatorship, is not going to let another dictator take its place."

'Working for Sisi'

One of Saied's moves was to shift the official anniversary of the revolution from the date of Ben Ali's flight to December 17, the day in 2010 when vegetable seller Mohamed Bouazizi burned himself alive sparking the first mass protests.

The move was seen as symbolising Saied's view that the revolution had been stolen.

Sofiane Ferhani, whose sister died in the revolution, said Saied had no right to "touch" the January 14 anniversary.

"We won't let him do it, this day is too dear to us," he said.

Ennahdha supporters have compared Saied to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose crackdown on Islamist demonstrators in 2013 left hundreds dead.

One woman protester told a policeman on Friday: "You're working for Sisi and the United Arab Emirates!" 

The protests took place despite a string of measures, including a nighttime curfew and a ban on public gatherings, brought in on Thursday evening purportedly to tackle a steep rise in coronavirus infections.

Ennahdha, the biggest party in the suspended parliament, on Thursday accused Saied of "utilising the coronavirus crisis for political ends, targeting what remains of the margin of freedom" in Tunisia.

The showdown comes amid heightened tensions between the party and Saied after former justice minister Noureddine Bhiri and another senior Ennhadha official were arrested by plainclothes police officers on December 31 and later accused of possible "terrorism" offences. 

Tunisians defy ban on gatherings to protest against president in capital (france24.com)

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Tunisian police killed man in first death of protests, opposition says

By Tarek Amara

TUNIS, Jan 19, 2022 (Reuters) -

A Tunisian man died in hospital on Wednesday from injuries inflicted by police, activists and the main opposition Ennahda party said, in what would be the first death related to protests against President Kais Saied's assumption of extra powers.

A Tunis court investigating the death said the man, found in a coma on Mohamed V Street in the capital, was taken to hospital on Friday and died on Wednesday. A court statement made no mention of whether the man was one of the demonstrators.

The court said the man's body bore no visible signs of violence and would be handed to forensic examiners to determine the cause of death. An investigation had been opened, it added.

There was no immediate comment from the interior ministry.

The Ennahda Islamist party said in a statement, however, that Ridha Bouziane, who is one of its members, was subjected to severe violence, which resulted in severe bleeding in his brain.

Police deployed water cannons and batons against protesters on Friday, as Saied faced growing discontent over his suspension of parliament last July and subsequent rule by decree.

"Ridha Bouziane, who took part in the January 14 protest died in a hospital in the capital after suffering serious injuries as a result of the excessive violence by police in the demonstration," the Citizens Against the Coup coalition said.

Ennahda said it holds President Saied and his interior minister fully responsible for Bouziane's death, and said it will prosecute those involved in this crime.

Samir Ben Amor, a lawyer for arrested protesters, also said Bouziane died due to police violence, though no more specifics were given.

Saied has said he will uphold all freedoms during a transitional period to a new constitution later this year.

Friday's protest defied a COVID-19 ban on gatherings.

Tunisian police killed man in first death of protests, opposition says | Reuters 

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