Tunisian police raid law offices and arrest commentator Sonia Dahmani

Tunisian police raided the offices of a lawyers’ association and arrested an outspoken figure on Saturday amid ongoing anti-government protests.

Plainclothes officers searched the lawyer’s house in Tunis, which belongs to the country’s legal union.

They arrested Sonia Dahmani, an activist said, after prosecutors issued an arrest warrant over her comments on a radio show.

Ms. Dahmani had said: “What extraordinary country (Tunisia) are we talking about? The one that half of its youth want to leave?”

It is the first time since the bar association was founded that police forces have used force to search its offices.

The Tunisian Bar Association has said it would intensify its protests if more of its members continued to be persecuted for their opinions or allegations related to their work.

A video on Facebook showed arguments between several lawyers and activists who were present to support Ms. Dahmani and the police officers who carried out the raid.

A journalist from the France 24 channel was arrested and later released, the activist said. According to local media, two Tunisian journalists, Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies, were also arrested.

The Bar Association announced a regional general strike in all courts in Tunis starting Monday after the raid.

“At around 8:45 p.m. we were surprised by the sudden raid of several masked people who broke down the doors of our offices and attacked lawyers both verbally and physically,” Laarousi Zguir, head of the Tunis branch of the Tunisian Bar Association, said at a press conference that day.

A lawyer was reportedly injured and is receiving treatment.

“Lawyer Sonia Dahmani was kidnapped and taken to an unknown location,” Mr Zguir said.

He added that judicial authorities had not yet responded to telephone calls to find out where Ms. Dahmani was taken.

Tunisian President Kais Saied issued a decree in September 2022 against the spread of false information and rumors online, with prison sentences of up to 10 years.

The decree states that anyone who used information networks to “spread (or publish) false news to harm public security and national defense will be subject to five years in prison and a fine of 50,000 Tunisian dinars (15,600 U.S. dollars).

Since then, several bloggers, activists, journalists and lawyers have been charged for statements made online or in public media criticizing Mr. Saied and his government.

Some political opponents were imprisoned under the same decree.

Updated: May 12, 2024, 5:19 a.m