Tunisian president accused of suspending judge for not jailing political rival

People walk outside a court in Tunis, Tunisia January 10, 2023. (REUTERS)
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Updated 05 March 2023
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Tunisian president accused of suspending judge for not jailing political rival

  • Senegal activists and MP arrested for protesting at Tunisia embassy

TUNIS: The Tunisian Judges Association said in a statement on Saturday that Tunisian President Kais Saied had suspended a judge because he had not sent a suspect to prison, accusing the government of a crackdown on opponents.
“The Association warns of the great and unprecedented pressures on the judiciary, after arrests and prosecutions that included political activists, judges, lawyers, trade unionists, journalists and media professionals,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for the president was not immediately available.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen activists and a member of parliament were arrested outside the Tunisian embassy in Senegal’s capital on Saturday, the prefect of Dakar and a lawyer representing the activists said.

Lawyer Moussa Sarr said 14 people including MP Guy Marius Sagna were arrested and being held at the central police station.

The prefect of Dakar, Mor Talla Tine, confirmed that arrests had been made.

One of the activists also told AFP he and Sagna had been arrested.

Sarr said two journalists had been arrested but were immediately released.

“They were arrested for participating in a banned demonstration,” Sarr said. “They had gone to the Tunisian embassy to hand in individual letters of protest.”

It follows international outcry over a wave of violence against sub-Saharan Africans in Tunisia triggered by a February 21 tirade by Tunisian President Kais Saied.

In the speech, Saied ordered officials to take “urgent measures” to tackle irregular migration, claiming without evidence that “a criminal plot” was under way “to change Tunisia’s demographic makeup.”

The activists arrested Saturday belonged to several organizations that had called on their members to bring letters of protest to the embassy after Senegalese authorities banned a rally planned for Saturday.


 


US shoots down Iranian drone approaching aircraft carrier

Updated 41 min 8 sec ago
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US shoots down Iranian drone approaching aircraft carrier

  • Iranian Shahed-139 drone shot down by F-35 jet
  • Iranian boats harass US-flagged tanker in Strait of Hormuz, US military says

The US military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the US military said, in an incident first reported by Reuters.

The incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, and US President Donald Trump warned that with US warships heading toward Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.
Oil futures prices rose more than $1 per ‌barrel after news ‌the drone was shot down.
The Iranian Shahed-139 drone ‌was ⁠flying toward ‌the carrier “with unclear intent” and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet, the US military said.
“An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at the US military’s Central Command.
Iran’s UN mission declined to comment.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said connection had been ⁠lost with a drone in international waters, but the reason was unknown.
No American service members were ‌harmed during the incident and no US equipment was ‍damaged, he added.
The Lincoln carrier strike ‍group is the most visible part of a US military buildup in ‍the Middle East following a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution.
Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was “seriously talking,” while Tehran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said arrangements for negotiations ⁠were under way.
Iranian boats harass US-flagged tanker
In a separate incident on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after the drone shootdown, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed a US-flagged, US-crewed merchant vessel, according to the US military.
“Two IRGC boats and an Iranian MoHajjer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Hawkins said.
Maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Iranian boats ordered the tanker to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded. Instead, the tanker sped up and continued its voyage.
Hawkins said a US Navy warship, the McFaul, was operating in the area ‌and escorted the Stena Imperative.
“The situation de-escalated as a result, and the US-flagged tanker is proceeding safely,” Hawkins added.