MONTREAL: Hundreds of people gathered late Wednesday in Montreal to express their outrage over the shooting death of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid.
The protesters, mostly youths, held candles and some wrapped themselves in Tunisian flags under bitterly cold temperatures.
The Tunisian Collective of Canada, which backed the Arab Spring movement that triggered the fall of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime two years ago, accused Tunisia's current government of failing to "combat corruption and criminals."
"Tunisian justice remains hostage to executive power," the group said, calling on the government to conduct a thorough investigation into Belaid's death.
Belaid, whose funeral will be on Friday after the main weekly prayers, was a populist known for his iconic smile and black moustache.
A lawyer who spoke with the working class accent of northwestern Tunisia, he defended human rights, was jailed under Ben Ali and ex-president Habib Bourguiba, and was a member of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's defence team.
His death sparked deadly protests, attacks on offices of the ruling Islamist Ennahda party and pledges for a new government of technocrats.
- AFP/xq
Canadians protest Tunisian opposition chief's death
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Canadians protest Tunisian opposition chief's death
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Canadians protest Tunisian opposition chief's death
