The streets of Tunisia have witnessed a massive protest as lawyers are angry because of police oppression of a lawyer.
Two lawyers were recently arrested by the police in Tunisia and one of them was allegedly tortured during detention.
Consequently, hundreds of people came out marching in the streets of Tunis, the capital city on Thursday.
This crowd was mostly seen voicing out their anger over the arrest of the two lawyers.
In addition, two journalists were also recently arrested, further angering the people.
The Protesters chanted “No fear, no terror. Power belongs to the people” as they approached the Palace of Justice.
The government has faced consistent criticism as it tries to consolidate power and oppress the free expression of opinions.
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However, the Tunisian government refuses to accept any of this blame both for wrongdoing and abuses.
Yet, there were also similar demonstrations last week criticizing President Saied whose leadership is getting increasingly authoritarian.
Tunisian Bar Association Raided on Monday
The Tunisian police raided the bar association’s headquarters on Monday to arrest Lawyer Mahdi Zagrouba for criticizing the President.
Previously, another lawyer Sonia Dahmani was detained over the weekend over a charge of controversial cybercrime law targeting, “fake news”.
According to the association, Zagrouba was tortured, and bruises and other signs of abuse could be seen on him.
The Tunisian Ministry of Interior, official Fakher Bouzghaia has denied that the lawyer was assaulted. He said, “We categorically deny that the lawyer was subjected to torture or ill-treatment”.
He called it a scenario to escape the responsibility of assaulting a policeman in a protest during the week.
In response to the arrests, the bar association president Hatem Mziou said “We demand an apology from the authorities for the enormous blunders committed”.
He added that all they were fighting for was to make sure that everyone enjoyed a democratic climate and respect for freedom.