TUNIS — The Tunisian journalists’ union accused
authorities on Tuesday of trying to “intimidate the media”, after a minister
sued a news outlet for “defaming” the prime minister.
اضافة اعلان
The Business News website had published an editorial
last week under the title “
Najla Bouden, the gentle woman”, reviewing the
premier’s 13 months in office under President Kais Saied.
Since starting the job in October 2021, Bouden had
“achieved nothing”, the article claimed, accusing the government of “continuing
to put sticks in the the wheels of Tunisia’s economy”.
Bouden was appointed by Saied in the wake of a July
2021 power grab that has sparked fears for democracy in the birthplace of the
Arab Spring uprisings.
Saied has since issued a string of presidential
decrees seen as repressive by rights groups, including one in September
restricting press freedom.
On Friday, justice minister
Leila Jaffel filed a
complaint against Business News for defamation, “false allegations against a
public official” and “contempt of the head of government”.
The justice ministry declined to give AFP any
further details on the case.
On Monday, Business News director Nizar Bahloul was
questioned by police in Tunis, he told AFP, saying they had asked about the
article and the expressions it used.
The vice president of the SNJT journalists’ union,
Amira Mohamed, said Tuesday the column contained “no defamation”.
“The move to press charges shows that the authorities want
to intimidate the media and journalists in order to silence them,” she told
AFP.
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