Saida Agrebi

The Tunisian Embassy in Ankara officially demanded that Turkish authorities extradite former president of the Association of Tunisian Mothers Saida Agrebi, according to a press release by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She, a former member of the ousted RCD ruling party and vice-president of the World Family Organization, attended an international conference in Ankara this week.

The ministry’s communiqué stated that the Tunisian national office of INTERPOL issued an arrest warrant for Agrebi on January 2. An earlier arrest warrant was ordered by the investigative judge of the Court of First Instance in Tunis on August 10, 2011.

Agrebi was invited to the International Summit on Family and Social Policy, held by the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Policy on January 2 and 3 in Ankara, to be honored for her achievements in the field. However, in an act of protest, the Tunisian delegation attending the event boycotted the rest of the conference.

The news of Agrebi being awarded in Turkey were first spread on Tunisian social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook. The press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs read that the statement was a response to media reports about Agrebi’s presence in Ankara.

On her Facebook page, Agrebi expressed surprise over “hateful” reactions and comments about her award from Tunisians and claimed that her recognition was well-deserved.

“I cannot take all this hate from some of the sick co-patriots, who thought a well-deserved international award was too much for me. Did I kill one of the martyrs? Did I harm a family? Did I cause someone to lose their livelihood? [...] For true Tunisians, I say to you that I love you and thank you for your condolences in my alienation. We shall meet on your land Tunisia… The Tunisia that we know,” wrote Agrebi on her page.