University demands release of French student in Tunisia

French PhD student Victor Dupont has been detained in Tunisia on breach of state security charges for at least 12 days, it was announced last week. His university has denounced the arrest as an attack on fundamental liberties, writes Melissa Chemam for RFI.

“This is an attack on academic freedom,” Vincent Geisser, director of the French Institute of Research and Study on the Arab and Islamic Worlds at Aix-Marseille University (Iremam), told press agencies.

Dupont (27) was arrested on 19 October at his home in a suburb of Tunis. His detention only came to light this week, his supporters having tried to negotiate his release out of the public eye. His parents travelled to Tunis a few days ago to discuss the case with France’s ambassador, according to media reports. Geisser confirmed to RFI that the family had now set up a support committee to demand the release of the student who was in Tunisia to conduct sociological research on the country’s 2011 protests.
Full report on the RFI site