Lawyers in the North African state of Tunisian have embarked upon a nationwide strike. There were mass demonstrations inside the country in December 2010.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
The lawyers demand an end to beatings by police, following what they say is police brutality against protesters
Last Modified: 06 Jan 2011 22:23 GMT
The overwhelming majority of Tunisia's lawyers joined a national strike against police violence
Thousands of Tunisian lawyers have gone on strike to demand an end to what they said were beatings by security forces, the latest civil disobedience in a protest movement that has led to unprecedented unrest.
Abderrazek Kilani, chairman of the Bar, told the Reuters news agency that 95 per cent of Tunisia's 8,000 lawyers had joined the strike on Thursday, called in protest against beatings they said they received from police at sit-ins in Tunis and other towns last week.
"The strike carries a clear message that we do not accept unjustified attacks on lawyers," he said. "We want to strongly protest against the beating of lawyers in the past few days."
Street protests by students, professionals and youths angry at a shortage of jobs and restrictions on public freedoms have grown into the most widespread and violent flare-up of popular dissent in President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's 23-year rule.
The protests were triggered last month when a young man set himself on fire in front of a government building in the central town of Sidi Bouzid, saying he was driven to the act by police who had seized his fruit and vegetable cart over a permit.
His self-immolation brought jobless graduates, trade unionists and human right activists out in protest.
Protests spread to other towns including the capital Tunis.
The man, Mohammed Bouazizi, aged 26, died on Tuesday of his burns. Demonstrations had tapered off last week but resumed on Wednesday after his burial.
Three eyewitnesses in Sidi Bouzid said a woman had climbed an electric pole after Bouazizi's burial and threatened to commit suicide with her three children in protest against poor living conditions. Officials persuaded her to abandon the idea.
In the western town of Thala, police used water cannons to disperse protesters. Many of the demonstrators were students, some of whom pelted police with firebombs, witnesses said. The protesters demanded that the police force leave the town and
release people detained during the protests.
Authorities later ordered the closure of schools and colleges in Thala until further notice, said representatives of the teachers' union there. Government officials could not immediately comment on these accounts.
Protests have been rare in Tunisia, which has had only two presidents since independence from France 55 years ago. The country has in the past been praised by Western allies as a model of stability and prosperity in the Arab world.
Government officials did not immediately comment.
Apart from Bouazizi, three people are reported to have died in the unrest. Two civilians were killed last month when police fired in what they called "self-defence" to quell rioters in the southern town of Bouziane.
Amnesty International condemned the Tunisian authorities' repression of the wave of protests on Thursday.
"Tunisians must be allowed to express their grievances and freely protest. The authorities made empty promises of work opportunities which were followed by a crackdown on protesters," Amnesty said in a statement.
The London-based human rights organisation called on the Tunisian authorities to launch an immediate investigation into the deaths and injuries that have occurred during the protests.
According to media reports, a jobless graduate also killed himself by clinging to a high-voltage electric cable, after shouting "No to unemployment, no to misery!"
Tunisia, a minor oil producer with a Mediterranean coastline that is popular with European tourists, has done more than many Arab states to empower women and provide education for youth.
But some Tunisians complain that investment has focused on the coast and left other areas marginalised.
The government has accused opponents of manipulating the Sidi Bouzid clashes to discredit the authorities, and Ben Ali said that violent protests were unacceptable.
Cyber dissidents arrested
Two web activists, Slim Amamou and Azyz Amamy, were arrested on Thursday, sources in Tunisia told Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera spoke with Amamy on Wednesday evening, local time, after his email and Facebook accounts were hijacked in a alleged government-led "phishing" campaign. His last Tweet was published on Thursday morning, as was Amamou's.
Amamy's phone was disconnected on Thursday night when Al Jazeera tried to reach him.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was "disturbed" by the Tunisian governments attempts to censor coverage of the protests, citing violence against journalists, newspapers being pulled from shelves and the blocking of websites.
"We are also alarmed by the shrill government-orchestrated campaign against Al-Jazeera," the CPJ said.
"We call on your government to present its views on the air, as it has been invited to do by media outlets on countless occasions, instead of attacking news organisations for simply performing their duties."
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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