Tunisian journalist sues Saudi ambassador for 'detention, assault'

The chief editor of Tunisia’s Al-Horria newspaper, Tawfiq Al-Awni, yesterday filed a lawsuit against the Saudi ambassador to Tunisia, Mohammed Bin Mahmoud Al–Ali, and the director of his office for “detention and assault” charges.

Speaking to the local Hannibal radio station, Al-Awni said that Saudi ambassador and his office director had detained several workers from Al-Horria during their visit to the kingdom’s embassy for a press interview on 23 October.

The interview, Awni stressed, was approved by Al-Ali sometime ahead. He explained that Al-Ali’s director attacked his staff after they entered the embassy compound, snatched their mobiles, and detained the newspaper’s photographer.

The kingdom has been under global pressure following the murder of the prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on 2 October. Riyadh initially denied any role in his disappearance, but under pressure from Turkish authorities, it identified 18 suspects who had acted as “rogue agents” and killed the outspoken writer.

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