Samir Dilou is a Tunisian politician. He served as the Minister of human rights, transitional justice and government spokesperson under Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali.[1][2][3]
Some opposition sources claim that in February 2012, he criticised freedom of the press.[4] His opponents claim that he later added that freedom of expression and strikes were a privilege, not a right.[5] He also decided to remove the police from the campus of Manouba University in Manouba, where students have been demonstrating to wear the niquab.[5]
His opponents maintain also that in the same month, he said on Samir El-Wafi's program on national television that homosexuality was not a human rights issue, but a condition in need of medical treatment.[6][7]Amnesty International condemned this statement.[6][7] In June 2012, he rejected the United Nations Human Rights Council's recommendation to decriminalize same-sex intercourse, arguing it was a Western concept at odds with Islam, Tunisian culture and traditions.[3] Critics have argued the anti-gay legislation was passed under French Tunisia.[3]
