Tunis, May 22 (AFP) Some 300 people died in the Tunisian uprising, a UN official has said, as a Tunisian rights activist said security forces raped and tortured prisoners even after the fall of the old regime.
"About 300 people were killed and 700 injured during the troubles between December 17 and January 14," Juan Mendez, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, told reporters in Tunis late yesterday.
Mendez cited figures provided by Tunisia's interim administration, relating to the weeks of popular protest that led to the overthrow of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, after 23 years in power.
The new figure is substantially higher than the previous toll issued by Tunisian officials in mid-February, which had put the death toll at 234, without specifying the number of injured.
Leading Tunisian rights activist Radhia Nasraoui said about 100 people had been tortured to death by the Ben Ali regime in its final weeks.