Tunisia’s PM rants at French documentary on poverty and dictatorship

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani seems to have made a trip to Paris specifically to protest against a French documentary that exposed Tunisia’s worsening poverty and dictatorship under the rule of Kais Saied.

Speaking at a presser with his French Peer Attali, Hachani ranted at the documentary describing it as “an unfriendly act by our French friends.”

Hanachi’s remarks against the M6 channel documentary offered the film more visibility leading to an increase in views on Youtube.

His remarks reflect the mindset of the new ruler in Tunis who sent scores to prison for freely expressing criticism.

In January, Human Rights Watch alerted to the jailing of thousands for expressing dissent, and an undermined civil society, saying Tunisia has backpedalled to autocracy following a crackdown on civil liberties by a president bent on continuing his power grab.

At least 40 opponents or individuals deemed critical of the authorities were behind bars as of December, with most of them accused of “conspiracy against state security” or dubious terrorism related charges, often merely for their peaceful speech or activism, according to the HRW report.

The authorities have also used a recent cybercrime decree-law, which imposes heavy prison sentences for spreading “fake news” and “rumors” online, to arbitrarily detain, prosecute, or investigate at least 21 people for speech offenses, in one case before a military court, it said.

Black Africans suffered persecution after xenophobic statements by the country’s president, which unleashed a wave of aggressions on migrants across the country, HRW recalled.