Tunisian lawyers call for strike over arrest of their colleague amid crackdown on dissent

By MASSINISSA BENLAKEHAL
Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Hooded police raided Tunisia’s bar association headquarters and arrested a lawyer as authorities escalated a broad government crackdown that’s ensnared political dissidents, non-governmental organizations and Black migrants. Sonia Dahmani, known as a prominent critic of the government, was arrested after making sarcastic remarks about Tunisia on a local television program last week and charged with distributing false information and disrupting public order. Civil society organizations expressed concern and said the arrest contributed to an ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders, activists, journalists and opposition leaders. Dahmani is the latest dissident to be charged under an anti-fake news law the government has used to pursue critics of President Kais Saied.