Afra Ben Azza, a secondary school student in the northern city of Kef participated with hundreds of people from her city last week to protest a draft law that pardons convicted businessmen in exchange for paying back the money they embezzled.

Afra Ben Azza, a secondary school student in the northern city of Kef participated with hundreds of people from her city last week to protest a draft law that pardons convicted businessmen in exchange for paying back the money they embezzled.

However, Afra never reached the protesters’ gathering location because she and the other protestors were dispersed by policemen using tear gas and sticks. She was arrested and interrogated for more than two hours because she was wearing a shirt that had the phrase “I will not forgive” written on it.

Afra said the police were very hard on her and threatened to put her in jail if she ever participated in any similar protests, which have been prohibited by the emergency law two months ago, on charges of planning to overthrow the regime, inciting civil disobedience and abusing security.

Against the reconciliation law

Afra is not an exceptional case. The police arrested a number of protestors last week when they demonstrated in the capital and in other cities against the reconciliation law with business men and government employees accused of influence peddling, financial corruption and bribery.

Recently, local and international organizations including Human Rights Watch warned that repression would return to Tunisia with the use of violence against protesting teachers, farmers, human rights activists and political opponents.

Fears of a tightening police grip on the country escalated indignation and condemnation campaigns among the opposition, which challenged the Ministry of Interior’s warning to people not to gather in the streets in large numbers.

The Popular Front spearheaded the protesting parties.  It consists of a coalition of small leftist parties, the Congress for the Republic led by the former president Monsef Marzouki and a number of small parties formed after the revolution. They won a very small number of seats in the Parliament which is mostly dominated by Nida Tunis Party and Ennahda Movement.

Violation of the emergency law

Saturday’s protest, in the center of the capital’s main street, came in the wake of the violent clashes ten days ago between policemen and some protestors who were beaten and arrested for violating the emergency law that prevents protesting and crowding. Union quarter officials were among the protestors who were arrested and scolded.

Sami Tahiri, Assistant Secretary-General of the Federation of Labor, commented on the security attack on trade unionists saying, “It is a stigma in the record of Tunisian democracy.”

“All marches violate the state of emergency, which aims to protect the country from terrorism rather than suppress freedoms,” Minister of Interior Mohammad Najem Algersali insisted.

Security attacks during the protests did not only affect the Reconciliation law unionists but also well-known politicians such as Manji Rahwi, leader and representative of the Popular Front and Mubaraka Awaynyeh, Martyr Mohammad Ibrahimi’s wife.

The return of repression

Several days ago, primary court judge Bezaghouan Ahmad Belrajab complained that he was verbally assaulted by a police officer who allegeldy said: “You are a judge and I am the head of the police station. I can arrest you whenever I want.”