Ghannouchi defends security personnel’s right to protest

The leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda Movement Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi on Sunday defended the right of security personnel to protest, following a government decision to initiate legal proceedings against those involved in an incident during which protestors stormed the prime minister’s headquarters.

“The revolution has allowed security elements to form trade unions and granted them the right to demonstrate,” Ghannouchi told reporters on the side-lines of his movement’s regional conference in Sfax, south of Tunis.

The office of the prime minister announced on Friday that it had initiated legal proceedings with the Court of First Instance in Tunis against members of the National Union of the Internal Security Forces (SNFSI) regarding their involvement in protests.

In a statement, the prime minister’s office said that members of the union had stormed its headquarters, threatening rebellion and chanting slogans that “harm the state and its institutions’ prestige”.

Ghannouchi remarked on the response: “The decision to initiate legal proceedings against the protesters who had attacked its headquarters is an evidence of a revolution in this country.”

The SNFSI responded on Friday saying it was ready to appear before court and fully assume the responsibilities of its decisions.

The Tunisian capital witnessed on Thursday protests by hundreds of union members of the internal security forces.

President Beji Caid Essebsi issued a decree on 25 May allowing internal security personnel to form unions.