The arrest of Tawfik Omrane comes after the publication of caricatures criticizing the head of government Ahmed Hachani. Many figures from civil society deplore “an attack on freedoms”
The famous Tunisian cartoonist Tawfik Omrane was placed in pre-trial detention on Thursday for “harming others” via social networks after the publication of caricatures criticizing the head of government Ahmed Hachani, his lawyer told AFP. He was arrested Thursday around 5 p.m. local time at his home in Megrine, in the southern suburbs of Tunis, added Me Ayachi Hammami.
Aged 64, the cartoonist was taken to a police station in Megrine where he was questioned for three hours about two caricatures published at the beginning of August on his page “Omrane Cartoons” criticizing the choice of Ahmed Hachani as head of the government, said Me Ayachi Hammami. A prosecutor decided to place him in pre-trial detention following this interrogation, he added.
“This is another violation against freedom of expression which this time affects a great cartoonist,” lamented Me Ayachi Hammami, also an opponent of the policies of President Kais Saied.
A decline in freedoms in Tunisia castigated
Tawfik Omrane has become known since the 1980s for his political drawings. His arrest was strongly criticized on social networks by many figures from civil society who denounced “an attack on freedoms”.
The president of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) Mehdi Jelassi demanded “the immediate release” of the cartoonist.
The SNJT as well as other local and international NGOs regularly denounce a decline in freedoms in Tunisia since President Kais Saied assumed full powers on July 25, 2021. These NGOs also denounce the “intimidation” of journalists by legal proceedings and “purely political” arrests.
