The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has denounced the suspension of a group of media professionals and the confiscation of their channel’s equipment, after a car linked to the National Army in Tunisia stopped them. The media professionals are Mokhtar Al-Kuholi, reporter for Jawhara FM, Qais Ammari, head of Al-Shorouk newspaper office in Sidi Bou Said, and Nour Al-Din Al-Saeedi, reporter for Elhiwar Ettounsi TV.
A car, linked to the National Army in Tunisia, on March 18, stopped the three media professionals, who were asked to show their IDs and work clearance. In the meantime, the equipment of Elhiwar Ettounsi TV had been seized. After an hour and a half, they restored their documents.
In the same context, some personnel, linked to the National Army, stopped photojournalist Al-Subo’ee and transferred him to the National Guard area, where a communique against him was filed, on an accusation of shooting without a licence. The photojournalist was detained for more than three hours. He was taking photos for a few scenes for the deployment of the National Guard agents and the Army in a sweep campaign, in Al-Zafirah. The agents deleted the photographs that were taken by Al-Subo’ee, and informed him that he would be prosecuted before the military judiciary.
The prosecution of journalists and media professionals are not limited to the regime, citizens also take part in this process. Zuhair Ben Ali, a reporter for TV Production Unit in Sfax, was exposed to a verbal attack attempt by two young men of the martyrs’ families and the wound of El Hamma; in the wake of his coverage of events of the trial of El Hamma martyrs’ killers before the military court.
ANHRI said, “Tunisian authorities still target media professionals and opinion makers, although they had a great scope to achieve democracy and freedom of expression in the wake of Ben Ali’s downfall. However, the regime persists on committing violations against freedom of expression, on the pretext of maintaining the national security.â€
ANHRI urged Tunisian authorities as well as Tunisian citizens to discontinue the crackdown on media professionals and opinion makers, their prosecutions as well as the attacks on them. They also should halt their preclusion from carrying out their job, which is to uncover the truth and disseminate it to citizens, as an inherent right to them.
