Tunisia: students arrested after demanding repairs to ramshackle school

Five students have been arrested in Tunisia after demanding that their school should be repaired. The arrests have been denounced by politicians and activists on social media.

The students organised a protest and refused to enter the “ramshackle” classroom. When they called on the school administration to repair it, they were arrested and face charges of “rioting”. The head of information at the Directorate of Education in Ben Arous, Tawfiq Al-Masoudi, confirmed that eleven students were arrested, but six were released.

Al-Masoudi told Diwan FM radio that the protest took place outside the school grounds and that tyres were set on fire. He said that the security forces intervened to stop the “riot” and preserve the safety of the other students, especially because some students were, it is alleged, carrying Molotov cocktails.

The “Tunisian Student” page on Facebook published pictures of the five students who remain in detention. It pointed out that their schoolmates have gone on strike to demand their release.

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