The government has lost its patience for media outlets that dare to challenge its narratives on issues of major concern for Tunisians. And so it has set out against those which symbolize the struggle for freedom and truth.
Liberté de la Presse 24
Kais Saied cracks down, cementing second term in office
Kais Saied was reelected as Tunisia’s president in the first round of elections. His Soviet-like score of 90.69% must not obscure record voter abstention rates: more than 7 out of 10 Tunisians—and more than 94% of Tunisian youth—did not turn out to vote. While there is no evidence that massive fraud took place on election day, the entire electoral process was marked by repressive tactics aiming to cement Saied’s second term in office. Recap of the past election year and the crackdown which ensured the outgoing president’s victory at the polls.
Timeline: Journalists under fire of Saied regime
More and more journalists are being harassed, prosecuted, and imprisoned. Freedom of the press is at an all-time low in Tunisia. Since July 25 and the promulgation of Decree-law 54, hostility towards journalists has been on the rise.
President Saied’s migration alibi paves way for repression
Civil society activists and employees arrested, UN organizations vilified, media outlets—including Nawaat—targeted. Once again, the country’s migration crisis serves as pretext for the ongoing witch hunt led by President Kais Saied to suppress the voices of regime critics.
Arab NGOs Warn against “Regional Media Freedom Mechanism” Project under the umbrella of the Arab League
Les organisations arabes des droits humains soussignées, dénoncent l’obstination de la Fédération internationale des journalistes (FIJ) à aller de l’avant, conjointement avec l’Union des journalistes arabes, dans l’établissement d’un « Mécanisme régional spécial pour la liberté d’information dans le monde arabe », sous le parapluie de la Ligue des États arabes.
Tunisia: Harmonizing Politics and Media for and before the Elections
As much as instruments to monitor and ensure transparency and the constitutional operation of state powers and processes, the HAICA and the ISIE are, just several months into their roles, equally accountable for their own transparency and constitutional operation. The next six months will not only measure their competency and capacity to fulfill this dual responsability but will more generally decide the nature and successfulness of elections and the direction of the country through and beyond the transition period.
The National Union of Tunisian Journalists Elects a New Executive Board
480 out of 873 union members voted in the elections, presumably due in part to the absence of those who were prevented from attending the event because they did not have the obligatory member cards. Neither the Nawaat nor other online sources dwell on what would appear to be a significant administrative error…
Les photos de la 6e édition du Forum WAN-IFRA de la presse arabe.
Voici les photos de la dernière édition du Forum WAN-IFRA de la presse Arabe, ayant eu lieu du 24 au 26 novembre 2013. Au-delà de l’objet même du Forum, c’est l’une de ces rares occasions durant lesquelles se réunissent quelques-uns parmi ceux qui ont à cœur le devenir de la profession ainsi que son indépendance. Derrière ce combat pour la liberté de la presse, il y a d’abord des femmes et des hommes, mais également des ONGs qui font un travail forçant le respect depuis des années…
Le 6ème Forum de la Presse Arabe Indépendante / Arab Free Press Forum, Tunis 24-26 novembre 2013
L’Association Mondiale des Journaux et des Editeurs de Médias d’Information (WAN-IFRA) s’apprête à accueillir des délégués venant des quatre coins de la région Arabe pour la 6ème édition de son Forum de la Presse Arabe Indépendante, qui aura lieu du 24 au 26 novembre 2013 dans la capitale tunisienne, Tunis.
Journalists on Strike Against Infringement of Free expression
On Saturday, the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, with support from the Union of Culture and Information, organized a general press strike held on September 17 to “oppose attacks against journalists from authorities who are desperate to treat journalists as criminals on the basis of repressive laws,” according to a press statement.
Authorities urged to drop all charges against detained TV cameraman
Reporters Without Borders, the Tunis Centre for Press Freedom, the National Union of Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists and […]
Tunisia: The hijacking of free radio
Gone are the days of a few radio stations flooding the airwaves with the same information and press releases, broadcast in loop, providing listeners with one way of looking at things. Since the revolution, we’ve seen the launch of 12 new radio stations. And since such diversity allows for a more democratic management of the airwaves, it would seem logical that everything be done to help them continue to broadcast.
WikiLeaks cables: Tunisia blocks site reporting ‘hatred’ of first lady
Tunisia has blocked the website of a Lebanese newspaper that published US cables released by WikiLeaks describing high-level corruption, a […]
Tunisia Blocks Wikileaks & Everyone Referencing it
Just as the stories are starting to get interesting, the Tunisian authorities block Wikileaks and every other form of leaks […]
Reporting on Corruption in Tunisia: The Price Journalists Pay
From 25-30 April, IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills participated in a joint press freedom mission to Tunisia, along with other representatives of the ‘Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG)’, which brings together over twenty organisations from the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) network.
IFJ Protests over Tunisian Police Violence at Journalists’ Headquarters
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today protested to the Tunisian government over the action of police who laid siege […]
CPJ presses Tunisia on poor press freedom record
The Committee to Protect Journalists urges you on the eve of the 53rd anniversary of Tunisia’s independence from France to end an ongoing cycle of repression of critical journalists and media outlets. We ask that you abide by the commitment you have made repeatedly since coming to power in 1987 to promote freedom of expression. The last time […]
Tunisia’s bloggers defy state censors
Foreign tourists know Tunisia for its sunny beaches, ancient ruins and one of the Arab world’s most liberal societies. But for Tunisians, life is a daily tiptoe through a minefield of political taboos enforced by a vast security apparatus and heavily censored media. Now the country’s drive to embrace the internet is giving Tunisians an unexected new outlet to challenge authority.
