Everyone detained after the Borj Erras water protests has been released
The decision to release everyone detained, including minors, was taken on the evening of Friday 14 August, and the president of the Tunisian Human Rights League, the LTDH, confirmed the releases the same evening on his Facebook page. The arrests followed protests in Borj Erras, a hillside district of Mahdia, against repeated and prolonged cuts to the drinking water supply. Several associations, led by the LTDH's regional section, had condemned the detention of people making a social demand and recalled that access to drinking water is a fundamental right. According to the columnist Riadh Jrad, nine people were detained after among other things throwing stones at the security forces, causing injuries and damage. We reported on 15 August that an investigation for conspiracy had been opened, and the releases say nothing about what happens to that investigation.