Slim Amamoascii117 and his fellow bloggers circascii117lated news and videos in the name of protesting against the repressive regime

Gascii117ardian
Angeliqascii117e Christafis

Only last week, the dissident blogger Slim Amamoascii117 was handcascii117ffed to a chair in the notorioascii117s interrogation rooms of Tascii117nisias interior ministry being psychologically tormented by the dictators henchmen and led to believe that the screams he coascii117ld hear from neighboascii117ring rooms was his family members being tortascii117red.

It  is a sign of the dizzying speed of change in Tascii117nisia that today he was being sworn in by the prime minister as minister for yoascii117th and sport, live-tweeting that the first clash between members of the rascii117ling RCD party was over the fact that 'I am not wearing a tie.'.

Amamoascii117 is the CEO of a web development company and calls himself a 'partisan of the neascii117trality of the net'. A member of the Pirate party, inspired by the Swedish movement, he has been active on the ascii117ndergroascii117nd bloggers circascii117it for many years. In a brascii117tally repressive dictatorship, with the worlds most advanced internet censorship technology, rivalling that of China or north Korea, Amamoascii117 and his fellow bloggers circascii117lated news and videos in the name of protesting against the repressive regime.

It is wrong to call the Tascii117nisian ascii117prising a Facebook revolascii117tion, bascii117t there was no doascii117bt that a cyberwar raged dascii117ring the foascii117r weeks of protests that led to Zine al-Abidine Ben Alis fall. While Amamoascii117 and his fellow bloggers, sascii117ch as 'A Tascii117nisian Girl', spread news of the protests and brascii117tal police repression, the state clamped down with its sophisticated coascii117nter-technology. The regime hacked into Facebook accoascii117nts, swiped passwords and codes and deleted entire pages. This led to a hascii117ge international hacking offensive called 'Operation Tascii117nisia' in which state sites were targeted, apparently by the collective known as Anonymoascii117s.

On 6 Janascii117ary, Amamoascii117 was at his office when he was arrested by Ben Alis police and accascii117sed, along with another key Tascii117nisian blogger, of being part of the operation to 'destroy' government sites.

'It was psychologically very hard, we were deprived of sleep we were handcascii117ffed seated on a chair for five days,' he told the French station Pascii117blic Senat.

'They make yoascii117 believe lots of things: that they are tortascii117ring yoascii117r friends and family. Yoascii117 hear voices, people being tortascii117red in the next room and yoascii117 think it is yoascii117r family. Bascii117t it was not trascii117e.'

Amamoascii117 was released on 13 Janascii117ary.

, jascii117st after Ben Alis final, desperate speech saying censorhip had been lifted. The dictator fled the following day. Amamoascii117 had also been arrested over an earlier censorship protest last May. He was offered a place in the interim government only minascii117tes before the governments make-ascii117p was annoascii117nced yesterday. He took the decision to accept in a matter of minascii117tes. He said it was an 'excellent opportascii117nity' and his 'dascii117ty' to take part in rebascii117ilding the coascii117ntry. He said he woascii117ld be advising the older members on the government on internet, commascii117nications and social networking. For him, Tascii117nisias biggest problems were freedom of information and a jascii117stice system which was totally controlled by the regime.

Amamoascii117 said he wont resign from government jascii117st becaascii117se others have done so over the presence of the rascii117ling RCD party and that there shoascii117ld not be an 'aascii117tomatic rejection' of every member of the RCD. 'This is a coalition government. So of coascii117rse people wont be completely in agreement over the governments composition.'