By Victor Kanayo
A Tunisian Football player identified as Nizar Issaoui is confirmed dead.
According to his family as captured by Reuters, Issaoui died from burns he suffered, after setting himself ablaze earlier this week, as a protest against “police injustice.”
Huge protests from the player’s family have followed, and a large number of citizens gathered in front of the police station, where the incident took place.
Witnesses said, police fired gas to disperse the protesters, who had gathered in front of the police headquarters.
The incident was similar to that involving Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor, who torched himself in December 2010 in the town of Sidi Bouzid, after a policewoman confiscated his fruit cart.
Bouazizi’s death sparked protests that ended with then President Ben Ali’s overthrow and inspired rebellions elsewhere in the Middle East.
Issaoui, a former player for top-flight side US Monastir and a father of four, published a video on Facebook in which he said, the reason for his protest was being falsely accused of terrorism in Haffouz, Kairouan, central Tunisia.
The striker who was free agent and playing in the amateur leagues before his death, suffered third-degree burns and doctors weren’t able to save his life, his brother Ryad told reporters.
Local media said Issaoui decided to make his extreme protest outside a police station, after officers accused him of “terrorism” when he complained about the price of bananas.
A video selfie circulating on social media shows Issaoui screaming: “For a dispute with someone selling bananas at 10 dinars ($3.29), I get accused of terrorism at the police station. Terrorism for a complaint about bananas.”
