In a recent development, a well-known Tunisian lawyer along with two journalists have been taken into custody by the current presidential administration, which has displayed a limited tolerance for dissenting voices.
The dramatic arrest of lawyer and commentator Sonia Dahmani was captured on video as she was forcibly removed from the Lawyers’ House, a part of the legal union, where she had sought refuge.
On the same night, TV and radio host Borhen Bssais and political analyst Mourad Zeghidi were also detained for their critical remarks about the government. Their lawyer, Ghazi Mrabet, informed the AFP news agency that they were placed under a 48-hour detention order and are required to appear before a magistrate.
Dahmani was apprehended after she declined to comply with a summons issued on Thursday for interrogation. The summons was related to statements she made during a television appearance on Wednesday.
During her appearance on the Donya Zina program on the Carthage Plus channel, Dahmani engaged in a discussion with host Braham Bsiss about the possibility of sub-Saharan African refugees and migrants settling in Tunisia and potentially “conquering” the country.
She questioned the notion of Tunisia being an exceptional country, pointing out that a significant portion of its youth aspired to leave due to the deteriorating living standards, making it an unattractive destination for settlement.
According to reports, Dahmani’s remarks were deemed offensive to Tunisia’s reputation by many viewers, leading to a summons to appear before an investigating judge.
Notably, Dahmani had criticized the government and President Kais Saied on the same show two weeks earlier, accusing them of transforming Tunisia into a barrier for Europe and facilitating a scheme to transform it into another ‘Lampedusa’, referring to the Italian island where undocumented migrants arrive.
She explained her refusal to comply with Thursday’s summons, citing the absence of a stated reason for its issuance…
Original from www.aljazeera.com