Tunisia Protests Planned over Visit by Saudi Crown Prince

Tunisia's presidency has said the de facto Saudi ruler will visit the North African nation for several hours Tuesday as part of a regional tour, without providing details on the program.

A demonstration is planned for Monday at 5 p.m. in the center of Tunis, organized by the National Union of Tunisian Journalists and several NGOs and civil society organizations, AFP reported.

Other protests – organized by student bodies – are planned for Tuesday morning in Tunis and the city of Sfax.

Saudi Arabia has faced intense global criticism over the killing of insider-turned-critic Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate on Oct. 2.

He was reportedly dismembered in what Saudi Arabia said was a "rogue" operation, but CIA analysis leaked to the US media pointed the finger at Crown Prince Mohammad.

"No to the desecration of Tunisia, country of the revolution" read a large banner displayed over the weekend at the journalists' union, depicting a man in traditional Saudi dress holding a chainsaw with his back to the camera.

In an open letter to Tunisia's presidency, the journalists' union slammed "the visit of the Saudi crown prince, which constitutes a danger for the safety and the peace of the region and the world, and a real threat to freedom of expression."

His arrival, the union said, would be "a flagrant violation of the principles of our revolution."

Tunisia's 2011 uprising deposed longtime dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and triggered the Arab Spring.

The crown prince is on his first foreign tour since the Khashoggi affair erupted, taking in the UAE and Bahrain ahead of Tunisia.

Saudi Arabia has warned criticism of Crown Prince Mohammad is a "red line."

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