On Saturday, thousands of Tunisians demonstrated in the Sidi Hassine district in the Tunisian capital, protesting the latest violent event by police against a young man in the town, reminding the country of the 2010 and 2011 demonstrations that triggered the region's Arab Spring.
مقطع مصور صادم في " سيدي حسين السيجومي" بالعاصمة تونس، سحل شاب عارٍ تماما من طرف البوليس والإعتداء عليه بالعنف..
— كمال ال ربعي (@elkateb_09) June 9, 2021
البلطجة وقوة السلطة وانتهاك حقوق الإنسان متواصل.. والقهر والإذلال عنوان الحكم في تونس.
Translation: "Shocking video from Sidi Hassine in Tunis, showing the dragging of a naked young man by the police and violently assaulting him. Power, violence, and human rights violations are continuous. Humiliation and oppression are the title of the rule in Tunisia."
Even though protests started peacefully with thousands of Tunisians marching in rejection of police violations, following an incident in which police officers assaulted a young man on Tuesday.
The incident, documented in a video that soon went viral, showed police officers as they stripped a young man and beat him in a scene very similar to violations committed by the police prior to the 2011 Arab Spring revolution, often called the Jasmine revolution in Tunisia.
الصورة الأولى في 2011... الثانية في 2021
— ?? Imad Choucheni - عماد الشوشاني (@imad_Choucheni) June 11, 2021
بعد 11 سنة ثورة...
الفرق انو في 2011 كان لابس حوايج توا زاد ولى عريان !!#عودة_الدولة_البوليسية #تعلم_البس pic.twitter.com/Z6DiytBFP8
Translation: "The first photo was in 2011 and the second is in 2021. 11 years after the revolution. The difference is that in 2011 he was fully dressed."
Protestors in the streets and online have drawn comparisons between police actions throughout the last decade, casting doubt that police departments have witnessed any kind of reforms since the revolution.
By the late hours of Saturday, protests turned into clashes in which protestors threw chairs and other objects at the police surrounding the protest area.
