An artist in Tunisia was arrested for his drawings that allegedly ridiculed Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani. According to his lawyer, the police interrogated him for hours “on suspicion of insults via social networks.”
The artist Tawfiq Omrane is known in Tunisia for his satirical cartoons about President Kais Saied. Saied dissolved parliament by decree in July 2021, which was viewed as a coup by the opposition. He also introduced a constitution that places all essential powers in the hands of the president. This seriously limited the government’s options at the time.
“Suppression of critical voices”
While the president justifies the action by saying he wants to end a years-long crisis in Tunisia, his opponents fear he wants to turn the state into an autocracy and roll back the democratic gains of the 2011 Arab Spring revolution.
“Omrane’s arrest once again demonstrates the authorities’ efforts to suppress critical voices about the president,” said Amira Mohamed, a leading member of the Tunisian Journalists’ Association. According to his lawyer, the artist was interrogated for hours. If convicted, he could face up to a year in prison.
Source: Krone
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