Tunisian authorities have arrested a
blogger who has been critical of the party of newly elected president
Beji Caid Essebsi, as he returned home from France, his lawyer said
Thursday.
Yassine Ayari, 33, was detained overnight at
Tunis-Carthage airport and whisked to jail in line with a court verdict
pronounced against him last month.
On November 18 Ayari was tried in absentia on charges of "defaming" army officers and sentenced to three years in jail.
But
according to his lawyer Sami Ben Amor, the blogger, who was living in
France at the time, was unaware of the verdict against him.
Ayari has denied the charges against him and a new hearing in the case has been set for January 6, Ben Amor said.
"This
case undermines freedom of speech and is the first of its kind to
emerge under the reign of Beji Caid Essebsi," said the lawyer, adding
that "Yassine Ayari is paying the price of his political views".
Essebsi,
an 88-year old anti-Islamist politician, won Tunisia's first free
presidential election on Sunday, capping off the transition to democracy
in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
His victory follows October legislative polls won by his Nidaa Tounes party.
In recent months, Ayari had published blogs very critical of Nidaa Tounes.
Essebsi
is a veteran politician who served under previous Tunisian regimes,
including in the government of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who was
ousted in the 2011 uprising.
No comments :
Post a Comment