Tunisians take to the streets to protest Saudi prince's visit

Prince Mohammed, commonly known by his initials MBS, is expected to arrive in Tunisia on Tuesday as part of a regional tour as he makes his way to the G20 summit set to take place in Argentina at the end of the month.

It is also MBS's first overseas tour after the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two months ago. The murder - widely seen as orchestrated by the crown prince - created an international firestorm against Saudi Arabia that continues to reverberate.

"As a Tunisian citizen, I reject bin Salman's visit to Tunis," Achraf Aouadi, a civil society activist, told Al Jazeera.

Tunisia adheres to a "human rights framework" that should protect the rights of the Yemeni people, preserve journalists' right to do their work, and grant female activists rights to express themselves freely, said Aouadi.

In addition to the Khashoggi killing, Aouadi was referring to recent reports on the alleged torture and sexual harassment of female Saudi activists, as well as the four-year Saudi-led war in Yemen which has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

"It provokes me that we [Tunisia] are dismissing this framework for economic interests," he said.

While the Saudi Royal Court did not clarify the official visit's programme, Tunisia has long been a recipient of Saudi aid money. The two countries' air forces held their first ever-joint exercises in October, signalling tighter relations.

MBS' trip to Tunis, made known last week, has generated widespread condemnation among civil society for days.

On Monday, the Tunisian Journalists' Syndicate (SNJT) announced it planned to file a lawsuit against Prince Mohammed at an international court for "war crimes committed by the Saudi regime in Yemen".

In an open letter addressed to President Beji Caid Essebsi days prior, the union slammed MBS as a "danger for the safety and the peace of the region and the world, and a real threat to freedom of expression".

"Tunisians reject the war crimes being committed in Yemen and the obvious human rights transgressions against Saudi activists like Jamal Khashoggi," Sakina Abdel Samad, an SNJT member, told reporters during a press conference.

A giant poster of the Saudi prince holding a chainsaw has been hung outside the group's office. "No to the desecration of Tunisia, land of the revolution," read the banner.

In another symbolic move, a group of 50 lawyers announced they too filed a lawsuit with a Tunisian court to pressure the government to cancel the crown prince's visit.

"We have officially requested an investigation into crimes committed by bin Salman," Nizar Boujalal, a spokesman for the lawyers, told reporters.

MBS's involvement in Yemen - in addition to his alleged role in Khashoggi's killing and the detention of the female activists - has put the country's ties with Western allies under tight scrutiny.

It remains to be seen which leaders shake hands and pose for photos with the crown prince at the G20 in Buenos Aires later this week.

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