Masked police are filmed storming the premises of the Bar Affiliation’s Legal professionals’ Area to arrest legal professional Sonia Dahmani.A distinguished Tunisian legal professional and two newshounds had been arrested in the newest transfer of a presidential management that has proven little tolerance for grievance.
The arrest of legal professional and commentator Sonia Dahmani on Saturday night time was once stuck on digicam as she was once bundled out of the Legal professionals’ Area, a part of the felony union, the place she have been sheltering.
The similar night, TV and radio presenter Borhen Bssais and political commentator Mourad Zeghidi had been additionally arrested for feedback in regards to the management, earlier than being held beneath a “48-hour detention warrant and [they] must seem earlier than an analyzing Justice of the Peace”, their legal professional Ghazi Mrabet informed the AFP information company.
Dahmani was once arrested after she refused to answer a summons issued on Thursday for wondering. The summons was once reportedly referring to feedback she made on a tv programme on Wednesday.
Showing at the Donya Zina programme at the Carthage Plus channel, Dahmani had replied to host Braham Bsiss throughout a dialogue on whether or not the sub-Saharan African refugees and migrants transiting Tunisia would attempt to keep there and “overcome” the rustic.
“What sort of strange nation are we speaking about? The person who part of its adolescence need to depart?” she remarked, indicating that Tunisia was once now not a ravishing nation to settle given the plummeting lifestyle that was once pushing its adolescence to depart.
The AFP reported that many audience discovered Dahmani’s remark “degrading” to Tunisia’s symbol and a summons to look earlier than an investigating pass judgement on was once issued.
Dahmani was once at the identical display two weeks in the past, turning in an impassioned broadside to the federal government and President Kais Saied for “turning Tunisia into border guards for Europe” and “permitting a plan to show it into ‘Lampedusa’”, in connection with the Italian island the place undocumented refugees and migrants land.
Dahmani mentioned she didn’t reply to Thursday’s summons as it didn’t state a reason why for its issuance nor did it supply supporting documentation.
As an alternative, she sought safe haven on the Legal professionals’ Area, affiliated with the Tunisian Order of Legal professionals (ONAT), which was once due to this fact raided to arrest her.
Plenty of newshounds protecting the case had been additionally arrested, together with Mourad Zghidi, Borhen Bsaies and Maryline Dumas of France 24, who filmed a part of the arrest throughout her document. They all have since been launched.
Then again, Dahmani’s whereabouts stay unknown.
L. a. journaliste tunisienne Sonia #Dahmani à été emmenée de power par des brokers cagoulés en direct sur @FRANCE24 durant un reside de @Maryline_Dumas.
Dans le monde entier les journalistes ne peuvent plus travailler sereinement.#Tunisie %.twitter.com/F4FkuCsIN1
— Abdel KH 🐛 (@AbdelKhera) Might 11, 2024
Translation: Tunisian journalist Sonia Dahmani was once taken via power via hooded brokers survive France 24 throughout a reside broadcast of Maryline Dumas. Reporters world wide can now not paintings peacefully.
Zeghidi was once arrested in reference to a Fb put up supporting imprisoned journalist Mohamed Boughalleb, who was once sentenced to 6 months in jail for defamation of a public legit, in addition to for “statements made throughout tv presentations since February”, his legal professional mentioned. The precise causes for Bsaies’s arrest are unclear, however his legal professional instructed it was once in reference to Decree 54, a arguable legislation outlawing the unfold of “false information” on digital networks that “would possibly hurt public safety or nationwide defence”.
Reacting to Dahmani’s arrest, Laarousi Zguir, head of the Tunis department of the Tunisian Legal professionals’ Bar, mentioned at a information convention later that night, “We had been taken via wonder round 8:45pm via the unexpected raid of many masked people who broke our place of business’s doorways and verbally in addition to bodily assaulted legal professionals.”
In keeping with reviews, Dahmani is also charged with breaching Decree 54.
Any person discovered responsible beneath Decree 54 can face a five-year jail sentence and a high-quality of fifty,000 Tunisian dinars ($15,600), doubling to 10-year imprisonment if the “false reviews” come with a public legit.
Tunisia’s Bar Affiliation has known as for a basic regional strike in all Tunis courts starting on Monday according to Saturday’s raid.
The problem of abnormal migration is delicate in Tunisia, with newshounds ceaselessly blocked from gaining access to the tens of 1000’s of abnormal arrivals pressured to refuge within the olive fields close to the coastal town of Sfax, looking forward to a ship out.
Becoming a member of the Black refugees and migrants hoping emigrate to Europe are many Tunisian adolescence, hoping to flee the rustic’s deteriorating monetary cases.
In 2023, 17,322 Tunisian nationals arrived with out paperwork in Italy, the Tunisian Discussion board for Financial and Social Rights reported.
