Tunisian Lawyer Arrested During Live News Broadcast

A live television broadcast showed dramatic scenes as plainclothes security officers entered the headquarters of the Tunisian Bar Association on Saturday to arrest a lawyer.

Sonia Dahmani was wanted in connection with comments she made earlier this week about the situation in Tunisia.

As their arrest took place, people could be heard shouting: “Lawyers are free, police are free!”

There is growing criticism of the restrictions on free expression imposed under the country’s presidency Kais Saied.

On Friday, Ms. Dahmani refused to attend a court hearing to explain why she doubted sub-Saharan migrants would settle in Tunisia, her lawyer said.

On Saturday, during a live broadcast by France24, reporter Marilyne Dumas can be seen at the headquarters of the Bar Association, where Ms. Dahmani is presumably staying.

Then Dumas stops mid-sentence as masked men enter the frame and break into an office. A short time later, people can be heard screaming and shouting as the masked men leave.

Someone then approaches the camera and tries to turn it off, and Dumas can be heard saying, “We’re in a public place, you don’t have the right to do this.”

France 24 condemned a “brutal intervention by security forces that prevented journalists from practicing their profession as they covered a lawyers’ protest for justice and in support of freedom of expression.”

On Sunday, two journalists were arrested because of their critical statements, a lawyer told the AFP news agency.

The basis for these arrests and Ms. Dahmani’s detention is believed to be a controversial law called Decree 54, which the president signed in September 2022.

Authorities said it was introduced to combat fake news, but critics say it is very vague and anyone found guilty of libel or insult could face five years in prison.

Around 60 journalists, lawyers and opposition figures were detained because of the decree, AFP quoted the National Union of Tunisian Journalists as saying.

On Sunday there were protests in the capital Tunis demanding the release of those detained.

President Saied came to power in 2019 after free elections, but in 2021 he fired the prime minister and suspended parliament.

The following year, a new constitution was approved in a referendum, which critics said risked the return of authoritarian rule in the country.

Mr Saied justified his actions by saying he needed new powers to break the cycle of political paralysis and economic decline.

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