Tunisia mourners clash with police after young man's death

Tunisian mourners clashed with security forces on Friday after the death of a young man from injuries sustained during a police chase a month ago.

Protestors threw rocks at security forces after Malek Sellimi's funeral in the working-class neighbourhood of Upper Omran on the edges of Tunis, according to videos shared widely online.

حي التضامن الآن أثناء تشييع جثمان التلميذ مالك السليمي الذي توفي متأثرا بإصابات بعد الاعتداء عليه من قبل الأمن pic.twitter.com/nj2JO9amZq

— mariem agrebi/مريم العقربي (@MayAgrebi) October 14, 2022

Sellimi, 24, had fallen in a ditch and suffered a neck injury as he was being chased by police in late August, a relative told local radio station Diwan FM on Friday.

"He was taken to hospital and was in intensive care for 50 days, then he died," said the relative, Mohamed, who did not give a surname.

He called for an enquiry to ensure justice for Sellimi's death.

More than a decade since the 2011 revolution that toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, police in the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings are often accused of using excessive force.

The Tunisian Human Rights League says 14 young men have been killed in recent years in incidents involving the police, adding that officials rarely face justice.

Rights groups say that since President Kais Saied's power grab last July, authorities have increasingly used measures reminiscent of those employed under Ben Ali.