Hommam Al Nassim 
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned what it calls “intimidation and harassment” of lawyers by authorities in Tunisia, following a massive arrest campaign that affected a number of them, as well as political commentators and human rights activists.
“The spokesperson for the commission, Ravina Shamdasani, told Agence France-Presse that the arrests and raids on the lawyers’ union headquarters ‘undermine the rule of law and violate international standards regarding the protection of lawyers’ independence and functions,’ adding that these actions constitute ‘forms of intimidation and harassment.'”
Commissioner Volker Türk urged “the authorities to respect and protect the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, as guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Tunisia is a party.”
It is noteworthy that the Tunisian President, Kais Saied, summoned a number of foreign ambassadors accredited to Tunisia, to protest their interference in the country’s internal affairs, after some Western countries and the European Union expressed their concerns about the campaign of arrests in Tunisia.
“What they are doing is blatant and unacceptable interference in Tunisia’s internal affairs,” Saied said, stressing that “Tunisia is an independent state that adheres to its sovereignty and has never interfered in the affairs of other countries, and that the Tunisian people refuse to allow anyone to interfere in their affairs.”
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