Protests following Police brutality in Tunisia

A string of incidents of police brutality occurred in the last few weeks in Tunisia. The arrest of Ahmed Ben Amara, on the 8th of June, in a working-class neighbourhood of Tunis was not conducted in a peaceful manner, as witnesses report. Locals from the neighbourhood have come forward to the family informing them they had seen police forces violently beating Ahmed up before forcing him into a vehicle. His sister, Kawthar Ben Amara, was told that Ahmed had been injured and was at the hospital. As she arrived, she discovered that he had succumbed to his injuries.

The family’s lawyer spoke to Amnesty International and claimed that authorities had intimidated witnesses, arrested key witnesses, and confiscated the mobile phone of a bystander who had filmed the arrest. Additionally, the three eyewitnesses had decided not to testify before the judge – as they would have not been granted protection. All police officers involved in the arrest are still employed and working for the Sidi Hassine police station.

In another incident, a 15-year-old boy, Fedi Harraghi, was stripped naked and beaten by police offices on a main avenue in Sidi Hassine. Videos of the incident showing a police officer kicking a young man on the ground whilst another one is pulling down the pants of the teenager have gone viral.

The Tunisian Ministry of interior had initially denied both these cases of obvious Police brutality. Ambiguously, the arrest and death were both denied and confirmed by authorities, as the Interior Ministry claimed Ahmed was never taken into custody and fled, whilst a lawyer working for the police declared that Ahmed had been arrested by three agents for drug trafficking and swallowed a large dose of cocaine, which allegedly resulted in his death. The arrest and violence inflicted upon Fedi Harraghi was firstly dismissed as a case of public intoxication, but later admitted that police were responsible. The minor was interrogated without the presence of his family or lawyer in relation with charges of indecency and public drunkenness. According to the lawyer in charge, there have also been clear signs of security services and ministries interfering with the course of the investigation and justice. It is claimed that torture during arrest or in police custody has never been punished.

As a result, hundreds of protesters gathered in Sidi Hassine calling for an end to police brutality, to investigate and punish those involved. The protesters were seen brandishing anti-government slogans and the crowd was allegedly chanting: “Freedom, Freedom, the police state is over”. The protests have been ongoing for about a week and have spread to several working-class districts. The districts of Ettadhamen and Inilaka, which are among the poorest districts, were the hotspots for protests as crowds gathered, blocking roads, burning tyres and throwing stones at police, whilst officers fired tear gas at will.

The United Nations human rights office in Tunisia has released a statement in which it expressed concern on the repeated allegations of serious violations by Tunisian security forces. 43 organizations, ranging from journalists’ syndicate, to unions, to lawyers’ syndicate and the Human Rights league, have called for a large national protest to end police immunity.