Tunisian journalists and activists have begun demonstrations against a visit yesterday by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, displaying a large banner of the kingdom’s de facto leader with a chain saw to protest the killing of critic Jamal Khashoggi.
Prince Mohammad was expected to arrive in the North African country as part of his first overseas trip since the murder of Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, last month provoked an international outcry and strained ties with some Western countries.
Several dozen activists on Monday evening rallied outside the Municipal Theater in central Tunis to protest against the prince, with another demonstration planned for the next day when he was to arrive.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Bin Salman is a criminal,” they chanted.
The tour of regional allies was probably calculated to show that it is business as usual for Prince Mohammad.
He flew to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday last week, moved onto Bahrain and stopped by Egypt for a two-day visit before heading to Tunisia.
Tunisian activists had unsuccessfully tried to have a court bar him from the country, whose revolution inspired the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.
The National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists on Monday held a news conference saying that activists would hold a protest against the prince in downtown Tunis.
“We will take a stand against this visit using all forms of protest,” syndicate member Sakina Abdel Samad said at a news conference with 11 other civil society groups.
The banner, hung down the side of the syndicate’s white-painted headquarters, depicts a man in traditional Persian Gulf robes, his hand resting on a chain saw, an apparent illusion to the dismemberment of Khashoggi’s body.
“No to defiling the land of revolutionary Tunisia,” it read.
Saudi Arabia has said the 33-year-old de facto ruler was not aware of any plan to kill Khashoggi, who went into exile last year and had been writing columns for the Washington Post criticizing the prince’s policies.
The prosecution has charged 11 people over the murder and is investigating a close aide to Prince Mohammad.
The prince also plans to attend the G20 summit in Argentina this week, Saudi Arabia-owned TV news channel al-Arabiya said.
US President Donald Trump said he would meet Prince Mohammad at the event.
Also to be present is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has pressured Saudi Arabia to punish whoever ordered the killing.
The controversy has prompted some US lawmakers to demand sanctions, although Trump has said that he would not allow it to upend relations, citing the potential impact on oil prices, weapons sales and US-led efforts to curb Iranian influence in the region.
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