It is condemnable to see legal proceedings initiated against journalists- some thirteen years after the Revolution- under the criminal code, the anti-terrorism law and the 2022 cybercrime decree, said President of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (French: SNJT) Zied Dabbar.

Journalists demand the enforcement of Decree n°115, Dabbar Wednesday said at a protest rally held outside the Tunis First Instance Court as a court hearing of journalist Zied El Heni got underawy.

The judiciary is still operating under the laws of Ben Ali’s regime, he added.

Protesters called for the release of all journalists arrested for doing their job or over their opinions and prosecuted under laws which have nothing to do with the journalistic profession.

Demonstrators waved slogans decrying “pressure on media, threats weighing on the freedom of expression and the detention of journalists over their opinions.”

Dabbar told reporters “the challenge today is legal” and there is need to enforce decree n° 2011-115 of Novem
ber 2, 2011, on the freedom of press, printing and publishing.

“The union is endeavouring, in coordination with some MPs, to amend decree n°54 and put in place a framework law in the service of the freedom of expression,” he said.

Silence in the face of such practices “will undermine the freedom of expression,” the SNJT President said.

It is a source of concern that a detention warrant for El Héni had been issued so hastily. Three journalists were prosecuted under the anti-terrorist legislation.

Zied El Héni’s hearing at the Tunis First Instance Court was set for Wednesday.

Journalist Khalifa Guesmi has been serving a five-year sentence for carrying out a journalistic work, while Chadha Mbarak’s trial is continuing in the Instalingo Case.

Politicians, human rights and civil society activists attended the protest.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse