Assassination of Khashoggi: Saudi Crown Prince hailed by protests in Tunisia | News from the world

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was greeted by a wave of public anger upon his arrival in Tunisia, one of the stages of his first trip abroad since the badbadination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly designed to whiten its image before the G20. summit later this week.

After the embraces and smiles of the UAE's, Bahrain's and Egypt's allies this week, the powerful Crown Prince has not received such a warm welcome in Tunis: at least 200 people have come together in downtown Monday night the day before scheduled talks with the Tunisian. President, Beji Caid Essebsi.

A huge banner depicting the prince wearing a chainsaw – an allusion to his alleged involvement in Khashoggi's dreadful murder and dismemberment of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul – was unfurled on the building of the Tunisian Journalists' Union.

On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters carried placards stating "No to Revolutionary Tunisia" and "The murderer is not welcome" at events organized by youth and women's rights groups.

After several weeks of shifting explanations, Riyad finally admitted that the dissident writer had been killed by a strike team sent from the kingdom, but the Saudis claimed that Prince Mohammed was unaware of this operation.

The demonstrations in Tunis were accompanied by statements by the Tunisian Journalists' Union and a dozen non-governmental organizations describing Prince Mohammed's visit as an "attack on the principles" of the Arab Spring that brought democracy and freedom of expression. expression in Tunisia.

"Arab citizens are often hostages to our governments," said Suad Abu-Dayyeh, a consultant for the Equality Now campaign group. "Prince Salman Imprisons and Tortures Activists in Saudi Arabia. I am delighted that Tunisians stand up to him. "

Tunisian officials underlined the "historical and fraternal" relations between Tunis and Riyadh, adding that the region would suffer if Saudi Arabia, regional power, was destabilized by the elimination of Prince Mohammed.

Tunisia is a long-time beneficiary of Saudi development and aid funds. However, many people in the country are still unhappy that Saudi Arabia has offered refuge to former corrupt President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after his overthrow in 2011 and has since refused to extradite him.

After Tunisia, Prince Mohammed is due to go to the G20 summit in Argentina on Friday, where many world leaders fear the prospect of public meetings with the heir to the besieged throne.

While US President Donald Trump has reiterated his support for his Saudi ally, even going as far as to contradict the CIA's badessment that the Crown Prince would have ordered Khashoggi's death, the possibility of squeezing hand and take photos with the de facto head of Saudi headache for British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The United Kingdom and France condemned Saudi Arabia's conduct following the murder of Khashoggi and used it to pressure the Saudi-Emirati coalition in Yemen for the resumption of peace negotiations, but critics have not stopped putting an end to arms sales in the Gulf.

On Monday, the human rights watch group Human Rights Watch made the decision, largely symbolic, to write to a federal prosecutor in Argentina to demand the arrest of the crown prince at the time. his arrival in Buenos Aires for war crimes and torture.

The prince would always be expected at the summit.