Tunisia journalists accuse state of intimidation

Tunis, Tunisia (AFP):

Dozens of journalists and rights activists staged a protest in the Tunisian capital on Thursday, accusing the state of “repression” and attempts to intimidate the media.

The protest, organised by the SNJT journalists’ union, came three days after police arrested Noureddine Boutar, the director of popular private radio station Mosaique FM.

The station has often been critical of President Kais Saied, who in 2021 sacked the government, froze parliament and seized almost total power in moves rivals have called a coup.

The demonstrators gathered outside government headquarters in Tunis, some wearing red tape across their mouths.

Others shouted “No to repression of journalists” and “We demand an independent free press.”

“The authorities want to bring both private and public media into line, and (Boutar’s) arrest is an attempt to intimidate the whole sector,” SNJT director Mahdi Jlassi said at the protest, which had been organised prior to Boutar’s arrest.

Large numbers of police were deployed to prevent the demonstrators from gathering directly in front of the prime minister’s office.

Boutar is one of 10 public figures arrested since Saturday — mainly critics of Saied, including members of the progressive Islamic Ennahdha party.

Since Saied’s power grab, several high-profile critics of the Tunisian leader have faced trials in military courts.

But the latest wave of detentions sparked fears the president is escalating against his opponents in the crisis-hit birthplace of the 2011 Arab uprisings.