French PhD student held in Tunisia since October 19, supervisor says

Photo of PhD student Victor Dupont on the website of The Institute of Research and Study on the Arab and Islamic Worlds (IREMAM).

French PhD student Victor Dupont has been detained in Tunisia on breach of state security charges for at least 12 days. His academic surpervisor said he had been conducting interviews about the career paths of people who protested in 2011's uprising and was sociological in nature, not political.

A French student researching the career paths of 2011 protesters in Tunisia has been held in the North African country since October 19 after a military judge ordered his detention, his supervisor said Thursday.

Victor Dupont, a 27-year-old doctoral student, had been in Tunisia for around 10 days conducting research interviews, Vincent Geisser, director of the Institute for Research and Studies on the Arab and Muslim Worlds at France’s Aix-Marseille University, told AFP.

“He was detained by Tunisian police on Saturday, October 19, taken to an interrogation centre, placed in custody, and the same day brought before a military judge,” he said, calling the last measure “exceptional” for a French student.

Dupont hoped his interviews would provide material for a paper on the social and career paths of “people who might have been active during the 2011 revolution” that toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Geisser said.

“It is not a political topic linked to dissidents or opponents or a security topic, but a typical sociology topic,” he added, calling for his student to be released.


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