As tensions rise in Tunisia, lawyers have started a one-day strike on Thursday, to protest the recent arrests of two layers, with claims that one was tortured during his detention.
The protest came with an escalation in arrests against journalists and lawyers in the country, amid the political crisis forming in the lead-up to elections, expected in November this year.
The police raided the bar association’s main office on Monday, which marked the second raid in two days. During the raid, they detained Mahdi Zagrouba who had openly critiqued President Kais Saied following the arrest of lawyer Sonia Dahmani last weekend.
The bar association along with human rights groups have claimed that Zagrouba was tortured during his detention, and is suffering following the violence he endured, Reuters reported.
In response to the serious allegations, the Interior Ministry has refuted the claims and said the Zagrouba was not subjected to torture.
In the same statement, Ministry Official Fakher Bouzghaia said: “It was proven that he (Zagrouba) assaulted a policeman during a protest this week.” The same ministry official claimed that the lawyer’s claims that he was tortured were to try and deflect from assaulting an officer.
Over the past week, several protests in the capital Tunis have occurred demanding a date for the elections and for it to be fair. The public’s requests stem from the current president’s term in power, in which he took over the majority of state powers and closed down the elected parliament in 2021.
Human rights groups and UN agencies have said Tunisia has been experiencing a significant decline in freedom of speech over recent years.
“It is troubling to see Tunisia, a country that once held so much hope, is regressing and losing the human rights gains of the last decade,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.