After being left on the sidelines of the social protests that led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution,” the Islamists are beginning to speak out.
Mixed in among the protesters taking part in daily rallies against the north African state’s new interim government, they tell stories of repression by Mr Ben Ali’s regime under harsh anti-terrorism laws that have imprisoned hundreds.
“We were on the frontlines against the regime for years and we payed the price. We suffered all sorts of injustices,” said Mohammed Hedi Ayani, a militant from the Ennahdha (Awakening) movement banned under Mr Ben Ali.
The new transition government has promised to legalise all movements including Ennahdha and abolish the anti-terrorism laws currently in place.
But for the Islamist activists rallying in the streets that’s not enough.
“All the Islamist prisoners have to be freed,” said 27-year-old Ines, one amongst of a crowd of relatives of the prisoners who came to protest at the ministry of justice on Tuesday to ask for news about their loved ones.
Ms Ines wore a niqab, a face-covering Islamic veil, which is rare in Tunisia.
“I didn’t dare to wear it before, not even to go and buy bread. But now I wear it all the time out of defiance,” she said.
A young man said: “Praying used to be considered a crime in Tunisia.”
A majority of the Islamists currently in detention were sentenced under an anti-terrorism law adopted under Mr Ben Ali in 2003 that has been heavily criticised by human rights groups both in Tunisia and abroad. Samir Ben Amor, a lawyer specialising in Islamist cases said around 3,000 people were imprisoned under the law and that between 500 and 1,000 Islamists remain in Tunisia’s jails – just three of them from the Ennahdha movement.
“They were sentenced with unfair trials under the criminal regime of Ben Ali, who used them to make himself look good in America and Europe and show that he was fully engaged in the war on terror,” the lawyer said. He said the only crime of many detainees was consulting banned Internet sites, including jihadist and fundamentalist websites.
Several protesters spoke bitterly about the imprisonment of hundreds of Islamists with sentences that were far harsher than those for imprisoned journalists or human rights activists widely reported in Western media.
“My father spent five years in Guantanamo. He was released and deported without the US pressing any charges against him. Tunisia sentenced him to seven years in prison when he got back,” Aicha El Hajj said.
“It’s been a year and a half since I’ve been allowed to see him,” she said.
“My father said that he preferred to go back to Guantanamo, that a day in Tunisian prisons was worse than five years there,” she added.
Fethi Abado Soumri, a 40-year-old Islamist, said he will never forget the horror of Tunisia’s overcrowded prisons.
“The lack of food forces us to eat mice and they tortured us,” he said.
Another woman said: “We are asking for an amnesty for our children.
“My son was sentenced unjustly to eight years for terrorism. He was tortured for nine months. They sodomised him with a baton until he lost consciousness.”
Unrest across the Arab world...
The uprising in Tunisia, which led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, has had a ripple effect across the Arab world:
Egypt
One person dies and four are injured in the space of a few days when they set themselves on fire. Three demonstrators and one police officer then die on Tuesday during protests across the country to demand the departure of President Hosni Mubarak. On Wednesday Egyptian police clash with protesters in the centre of Cairo and in the port city of Suez, arresting at least 500 people.
Algeria
Early in January five days of violent protests against high prices result in five people dead and more than 800 injured. The government orders a cut in basic food prices and pledges to continue subsidising wheat, milk and electricity. On January 22 riot police break up a banned pro-democracy rally, leaving around 20 injured. Two lethal self-immolations and six attempted torching suicides have been reported in Algeria since January 14.
Jordan
Thousands of Jordanians take to the streets of Amman and other cities on January 14 to protest soaring commodity prices, unemployment and poverty, calling for the sacking of the government. On January 16 more than 3,000 Jordanian trade unionists, Islamists and leftists hold a sit-in outside parliament to protest the government’s economic policies. On the 21st more than 5,000 people rally after weekly prayers in Amman and other cities.
Sudan
A 25-year-old Sudanese man himself who set himself on fire in a suburb of Khartoum dies from his injuries on Wednesday. Widespread economic and political discontent in north Sudan has led to sporadic protests in recent weeks.
Oman
Some 200 Omanis protest on January 17 against high prices and corruption, a rare phenomenon in the Arab Gulf monarchy.
Mauritania
Yacoub Ould Dahoud sets himself on fire in an anti-government protest on January 17 because he is “unhappy with the political situation in the country and angry with the government.”
Yemen
Police disperse hundreds of protesters chanting pro-Tunisia slogans at Sanaa University on January 18.