Tunisia: Hundreds protest against the "police state"

Hundreds of demonstrators are taking to the streets of the capital to demand the release of the detainees and clash with the security forces after being prevented from reaching the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior, while the Tunisian governorates have recently witnessed angry social movements due to poverty and marginalization.

AFP

Tunisia - The anti-regime protests denouncing the deteriorating conditions in Tunisia entered their third consecutive week, as hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in the center of the capital, condemning the police crackdown and demanding along with social demands for the release of those arrested during clashes with the security forces two weeks ago.

The protesters set out from the "Human Rights Square" and arrived at Habib Bourguiba Street, but the deployed security forces prevented them from reaching the part of the Ministry of Interior headquarters.

The protesters, most of whom were young, chanted slogans: "Freedom, freedom, power is in the hands of the people," "Down with police rule," and "No fear, no terror, power belongs to the people."

One of the protesters chanted in the face of the security forces, "Open the way, release the people."

Banners were raised during the protest saying "Corrupt government" and "Police are everywhere, and justice does not exist."

Many protesters in Tunisia say police abuses endanger the freedoms they gained in the 2011 revolution that toppled the authoritarian rule.

Hundreds of police confronted the demonstrators, which led to skirmishes. 

Tunisia has been witnessing nearly daily protests since mid-January, the anniversary of the Tunisian revolution that sparked the uprisings across the region in 2011 and brought down the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power, in what was known as the Arab Spring.

Tunisia is the only Arab country whose revolution led to the establishment of a democratic system.

And Amnesty International called on Thursday for an investigation into the circumstances of the death of a young protester in the center of the country last week and the severity of another injury, as a result of tear gas canisters, according to their families.

The protests in the country coincide with the exacerbation of a political and health crisis caused by the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Last Tuesday, hundreds of people demonstrated in the capital against the political class and the police crackdown on protesters near the fortified parliament, as the deputies approved a broad cabinet reshuffle that sheds light on the political tensions between President Qais Saeed and Parliament.

Previous protests also demanded a fairer social policy, and condemned the restrictions imposed to fight the epidemic and affected especially the most vulnerable groups, as they caused the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs and obstructed education.

Source: AFP