Extremist anti-poetry violence in Tunisia

This video from the USA says about itself:

Spoken Word Poetry – Support Tunisia

Written the day of the protests. The day after a man who had burned himself alive died. Days before revolutions spread in other countries and people united in a beautiful cause.

From the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (Cairo, Egypt):

Tunisia: ANHRI Condemns the Repeated Attacks On Freedom of Expression, Latest Attack Was On the Poet, ‘Mohamed Al-Saghir’

Press release

ANHRI, today, condemns the attack on the poet, “Mohamed Al-Saghir Awlad Ahmed” by a group of extremist Salafis at the end of the last week, due to his participation in the program “La Paz” on the Tunisian Channel.

The Tunisian poet “Mohamed Al-Saghir Awlad Ahmed”, aged 57 years, at the end of last week was assaulted by a group of extremists Salafis, following his participation in a Tv program on the Tunisian Channel, in which he criticized the extremist Islamists.

It is worth to be noted that the assault on the poet “Mohamed Al-Saghir,” is not the first of its kind, as Tunisia witnessed during the last period many violations against freedom of opinion and expression. The government did not take any procedures to stop these attacks.

See, eg, the salafist attack on unemployed workers in Sidi Bouzid.

On August 14, 2012 the extremists prevented in the city “Menzel Bourguiba” in the state of “Bizerte” a theatrical show by Tunisian comedian actor “Lutfi Abdali” allegedly “mocking religion” after they broke into the House of Culture (Perm Tunisian); and on August 15 Salafists prevented an orchestra from Iran from performing at the conclusion of the International Festival of Sufi and spiritual music in the state of Kairouan.

In addition 200 activists armed with swords, sticks and stones attacked the Festival of “Al-Aqsa Victory” in the city of “Bizerte” in the north of Tunisia on August 16, 2012, to protest against the presence of the former Lebanese detainee in Israel, “Samir Kuntar,” whom they accused of supporting the regime of Syrian President “Bashar Al-Assad”. Four people were wounded, including a security officer, in addition to the attack on the playwright “Rajab Mokri” in the city of El-Kef during the month of May this year, by the Salafi groups, in which he had serious injuries after being beaten severely on his head and chest.

ANHRI said that the attack on the poet Mohamed Al-Saghir is an explicit violation of the freedom of opinion and expression in the country and represents a challenge to the Alnnahdah Movement, the governing party in Tunisia, which announced several times their respect for freedom of expression, especially with the presence of the statements issued by the Alnnahdah Movement saying that “freedom of expression and artistic creativity, although they are recognized, are not free from all controls” which suggests that they are trying to restrict the freedom of opinion in the country and overlook the repeated violations of the creators and owners of opinion”.

ANHRI calls on the Tunisian authorities and Alnnahdah Islamic Movement to protect the makers of opinion and expression and the creators from the repeated attacks and that the perpetrators of such attacks should urgently be on trial.

Yesterday, a group of Tunisian women affiliated with the leftist Nidaa Tounes – the Call of Tunisia party – reported that they were verbally and physically assaulted during a meeting held in the small town of Menzel Chakeur, located in the governorate of Sfax: here.

Tunisia: Amnesty International Tunisia Calls for Enshrining Abolition of Death Penalty in Constitution: here.