Tunisia: Ennahda condemns the murder of one of Friday protesters

Tunisia’s Ennahda Movement condemned, on Wednesday, what it described as a “heinous murder” against a Tunisian citizen who participated in Friday’s protests, according to a statement issued by the Movement, a copy of which Anadolu Agency has viewed.

On Friday, the Tunisian Ministry of Interior said in a statement that the security forces “exercised the utmost restraint, and it gradually used water to disperse the protesters who deliberately stormed the barriers and attacked the security forces.”

The Ministry of Interior added that the dispersal of the protesters came as a result “of their violation of a government decision to ban all demonstrations in open and closed spaces during the current period to prevent the acceleration of the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We condemn this heinous murder, which is the death of Reda Bouziane (on Wednesday) as a result of his injury (on Friday), after being subjected to severe violence by security forces during his participation in the demonstration to celebrate the Revolution Day,” the Ennahda Movement said.

The Movement held “President of the Republic, Kais Saied, fully responsible for the murdering of Bouziane as a result of the policies he has adopted since the coup measures on 25 July, the speeches of incitement, and the order to use violence against peaceful demonstrators.”

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The Ennahda Movement called for “the dismissal of Taoufik Charfeddine, the assigned person to run the Ministry of Interior, as he is directly responsible for the violence against the peaceful demonstrators on several occasions, as well as the abductions and forced detention outside the law.”

The Movement called on “all the forces that believe in freedom, rights and struggle for the restitution of democracy to unite their efforts against the coup and purify the country of its dangerous effects at all levels, especially the situation of public and private freedom.”

Ennahda Movement affirmed “its adherence to the legal prosecution of all those involved in this heinous crime, and it asserted its support to the family of the deceased man in the course of demanding his rights and holding the perpetrators accountable.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Tunisian “Citizens Against the Coup” initiative announced the death of Reda Bouziane, one of the participants in the 14 January demonstrations, in one of the capital’s hospitals, after he was seriously injured as a result of the excessive violence applied to the demonstrators.

After Bouziane’s death was announced, Mosaique Radio (Private) said that “the Public Prosecution of the Court of First Instance in Tunis has ordered opening of an investigation to reveal the circumstances and causes of the death of a fifty-year-old man who died this morning, Wednesday, in one of the capital’s hospitals after he was transferred to it since the evening of last Friday.”

The Friday protests came as a response to calls from the “Citizens Against the Coup” initiative, the “Ennahda Movement” (53 seats out of 217 in suspended Parliament), the Democratic Current (22 seats), the “Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties”, the “Republican Party” and “Workers Party” (has no parliament members), in rejection of President Kais Saied’s measures and to celebrate the anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution (14 January, 2011).

Tunisia has been witnessing a political crisis since last 25 July, when Said imposed “exceptional” measures, including suspending the Parliament, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, dismissing the prime minister, and appointing a new government.

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