A state of anger and condemnation has spread on social media platforms in Tunisia in recent days, after the case of 16-year-old student Makram Zermidani was circulated and reports that he had been assaulted by a security officer, who lost his sight, according to frequent testimonies.

This comes amid calls for justice and his release after his correctional facility.

Bloggers and activists interacted with the hashtags "Kairouan's student, #سيب_التلميذ, (released) Seib_Makram" on social media platforms, demanding the release of the minor student and enabling him to receive treatment and compensation for exams for the current academic year, after days in detention.

The student's mother, Makram, said in an intervention with her on Radio "Diwan. Eff. M., her son told her that he never saw anymore, knowing that he had previously performed 11 eye operations to preserve the retina.

She added that her son could see slightly, but now he never sees, noting that she has no proof that he lost sight as a result of the assault, but in return she confirmed the cooperation of the reformatory and her interest in presenting him to a doctor.

"My son's only fault is that he raised his phone to film an event that happened in front of him, that's all his fault, until the security officer began to refuse filming and violently assault him," she said, adding that she was in the process of filing a complaint in this regard.

For his part, said a member of the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights Seif Ayadi that the student Makram is studying at a high school in Kairouan, and was subjected to violence from a security officer, which made him lose his sight permanently with his right eye, considering that what happened represents "a scandal at the penal level and at the level of the work of security personnel in Kairouan, especially at the judicial level."

He explained in his intervention on the program "Hona Tunis", on Radio "Diwan. Eff. "There was a security presence in the vicinity of the high school, and Makram was among the crowd, so a security officer in civilian clothes went to him and tried to confiscate his mobile phone and assault him, and this was documented in a video clip that was circulated on the platforms, and then in a second stage he was taken to the flash of a nearby mosque where he was violently assaulted again after handcuffing him back with shackles," according to his testimony.

According to Ayadi, the student faces several charges, including assaulting a public official with extreme violence while performing his job, resulting in insulting a public official while performing his job by words, threatening, assaulting him, forcing him to leave something in connection with his job, throwing hard materials at the property of others, causing confusion and confusion on the public road, assaulting good morals and morals, and attempting to assault according to articles 116, 125, 127, 218, 222, 226 bis, and 320 of the penal code.

Ayadi called for "reviewing the decision to issue a correctional deposit card against Makram and to raise the crime of torture because he has seen the full reports regarding what happened with Makram," calling on the Regional Delegation for Education in Kairouan to intervene urgently in order to allow Makram to take his exams, according to his statement.

For his part, Kairouan court spokesman Riad Ben Halima presented a different version of Ayadi's, saying that the security officer came to the defense of a student who was being pursued by the student Makram to assault her under the pretext of a dispute between them, and events developed to take him to the reformatory.

The same source denied that the student was facing charges of assaulting the security officer, and said that the student's parents had filed a complaint in particular.

The incident and the testimonies of the student's families and human rights bodies in particular sparked controversy and condemnation on platforms, as activists considered it a continuation of the tightening of the security grip amid demands for justice.

Activists denounced what they said was a "clear injustice" suffered by a minor, who will be resentful of what he was subjected to, calling for his support and urgent release as a victim.

"A student in Kairouan (central Tunisia) loses his sight after being assaulted with extreme violence by a plainclothes security officer. The student was holding his mobile phone when security was arresting a schoolgirl for an electronic crime. Not only did he lose his sight, but they sent him to the correctional facility for assaulting a policeman."

A schoolboy in Kairouan (central #تونس) loses his sight after being assaulted with extreme violence by a plainclothes security officer.
The student was holding his mobile phone when security was arresting a schoolgirl for an "electronic crime."
Not only did he lose his sight, but they also placed him in the reformatory on charges of attacking a policeman pic.twitter.com/lWZHCT9QSZ

— Wejdene Bouabdallah 🥏 (@tounsiahourra) June 1, 2023

"In the case of Makram al-Zardini, the security officer who assaulted the young Makram al-Zarmadini must be brought to justice and the case must be followed up so that the boy is redressed and the perpetrator is punished," Bousfara said.

For his part, activist Ayoub Emara published the details of the case of the young Makram, in which he confirmed that he was suffering from a previous injury to his right eye and underwent surgeries to preserve the retina, noting that he lost his vision permanently in this eye.