US Ally Jails Dissident: 'Democracy' Only for Friends
When a court in Tunisia — a nation once hailed as the 'sole success story' of the Arab Spring by US officials — jails a prominent opposition figure for over a decade, alarm bells usually blare. But for Western media and governments, the 'threat to democracy' sirens often depend on who's doing the jailing and who's getting jailed. This isn't some rogue state, mind you; Tunisia receives substantial
US security assistance, often justified as stabilizing the region. (Stability, it seems, is code for repressing dissent with a friendly face.) One might wonder if the outcry would be louder if the accused wasn't a vocal critic of the very government receiving said American taxpayer dollars. The 'politically motivated order' claim, per Moussi's lawyer, fits a pattern Washington often decries –
unless, of course, the strongman in question is considered a 'partner' against vaguely defined 'extremism.' The principle of fundamental rights appears to be as flexible as diplomatic interests dictate.