Tunisian Journalists Face Escalating Arrests
Tunisia has plummet to such a new low in terms of how far its president can enact draconian measures against anyone who dares to criticise him or his policies that now journalists can be arrested for merely criticising laws.
A prominent Tunisian journalist was arrested after criticising the penal code which criminalises insulting the head of state during a radio broadcast, his lawyer said on June 21st.
Zied El Heni was placed in police custody after being questioned on the evening of June 20th about alleged “crimes through telecommunications” channels, his lawyer Dalila Msaddek told AFP.
“Heni was interrogated in the absence of lawyers. What happened is a farce that enhances the dictatorial approach,” his lawyer told Reuters.
Heni, the presenter of a daily radio program, has not commented on the allegations of insulting the president, which carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Judges have detained or opened investigations into more than 20 political, judicial, media and business figures with opposition ties over recent months, accusing some of plotting against state security.
The main opposition parties have decried the arrests as politically motivated and rights groups have urged authorities to free those detained.
Saied has described the detainees as terrorists, criminals and traitors, and says judges who free them would be abetting their alleged crimes.
Free speech is one of the key reforms that Tunisians won after the 2011 revolution that toppled dictatorial President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. But activists, journalists and politicians say this freedom is once again under threat.
Saied rejects accusations of targeting freedoms and says he will not be a dictator.
Reuters/AFP/Maghrebi
