Zouheir Makhlouf attacked by members of the political police

The journalist Zouheir Makhlouf, a correspondent of the Assabilonline (www.assabilonline.net) website and a member of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), was attacked by members of the political police outside his home in Tunis as he was about to set off for Sidi Bouzid (265 km south of the capital), where a street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, had just set himself on fire in protest against harassment by local officials. The beating left Makhlouf with bruises to the face, arms and legs.