The death of Tunisian professional footballer Nizar Issaoui , who set himself on fire after terrorism charges were leveled against him, sparked street protests that led to clashes between demonstrators and police in the town of Hafouz , located in the Kairouan governorate in central Tunisia . The news was reported by Tunisian private radio station Mosaique fm , explaining that the demonstrators threw stones at security forces who responded with tear gas .
The incident involving the 35-year-old striker who plays in the Tunisian Serie A dates back to April 10, when the athlete went to the Hafouz police station to report a fraudulent increase in the price of fruit , but ended up being accused of alleged involvement in an unspecified terrorist act . The situation he found himself in led him to choose to take an extreme step.
"I wanted to draw the attention of the police to the violation of a merchant who was selling bananas for ten dinars per kilogram. But I was punished, they accused me of terrorism and involved me in a case I had nothing to do with," the footballer said in the Facebook video , while several people, including family members, tried to dissuade him. But the 35-year-old decided to set himself on fire as a gesture of protest. A move that cost him his life due to the serious burns he suffered.
Issaoui's gesture cannot fail to recall that of Mohamed Bouazizi , a young street vendor who set himself on fire in the governorate of Sidi Bouzid, 13 years ago .
That episode is considered the spark that made the Arab Spring explode in the country and led to the fall of the Ben Ali regime . Today the country is experiencing a very serious economic crisis , accentuated by the long wave of the pandemic and the severe drought , all in a precarious political context characterized by the iron fist of President Kais Saied who a year ago decided to dissolve Parliament and assume, in fact, full powers.
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