Tunisia: Lawyers Launch Strike Over Police Repression
The Facts
Lawyers in Tunisia launched a one-day nationwide strike on Thursday, protesting the recent arrest of two of their colleagues, and alleging that one of them was tortured while in detention.
On Monday, police stormed the country's bar association headquarters and arrested Mahdi Zagrouba, a lawyer critical of Tunisian President Kais Saied. Another lawyer, Sonia Dahmani was arrested over the weekend.
The Spin
Narrative A
These two lawyers violated the law of a sovereign nation and then sought to hide behind the walls of the bar association's headquarters. However, as the headquarters is located on Tunisian soil, the lawyers were arrested and forced to face the legal consequences of their actions. Tunis rejects any outside interference in this matter, as the arrests were made in full compliance with Tunisian law, which guarantees equality and the right to a fair trial.
Narrative B
Despite Tunisia being the birthplace of the Arab Spring, the recent arrests and anti-government protests are a result of Saied's increasingly autocratic rule and his government's repressive policies. The mounting attacks on dissenters and the country's democratic pillars, such as legal protection and freedom of the press, are leading the country back to autocracy. However, Tunisians will not tolerate their country being robbed of the fruits of the revolution.