Committee to Protect Journalists - Tunisia

Attacks on the Press in 2012: Tunisia

2013-02-14T05:05:40Z

Two years after the revolution that overthrew Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, press freedom in Tunisia slid backward. Since the newly elected government assumed office in January, the authorities took several worrying steps that included the appointment of government allies as new heads of state television, radio, and print outlets. In April, three journalists were beaten while covering a protest, and in July, police officers attacked two journalists who were filming a collision involving a police cruiser and a train. In August, the authorities issued an arrest warrant for the head of a private television station, a Ben Ali ally who also hosted a satirical show mocking current government figures. In February, the authorities detained and fined three journalists for publishing a nude photo. Journalists said the government was ignoring two media laws adopted in November 2011 that were modeled on international press freedom standards, instead enforcing the previous, repressive laws. Members of the National Authority to Reform Information and Communication, a special commission set up to bring about media reforms, resigned en masse in July citing the government's lack of commitment to press freedom.

Attacks on the Press: Journalism and Religion

2013-02-14T05:04:33Z

Editors think twice, reporters do not dig deeply, columnists choose words carefully. By Jean-Paul Marthoz

Arrest warrant issued for Tunisian TV director

2012-08-29T16:48:46Z

New York, August 29, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about an arrest warrant issued against the head of a Tunisian television station, whose news and programming are often seen as critical of the current government.

Two Tunisian journalists attacked by police officers

2012-07-23T17:03:09Z

Two Tunisian journalists working for a local TV station were attacked by police officers on July 23, 2012, as they reported on the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to news reports.

Police attack Tunisian journalists covering protest

2012-04-10T21:24:51Z

New York, April 10, 2012--Tunisian authorities must immediately investigate attacks against journalists covering a Martyrs' Day protest in the Tunisian capital on Monday, the first series of anti-press attacks that the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented in three months, CPJ said today.

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Regulating the Internet

2012-02-22T04:36:01Z

Legislation for Internet security can quickly turn into a weapon against the free press. Cybercrime laws are intended to extend existing penal codes to the online world, but they can easily be broadened to criminalize standard journalistic practices. By Danny O'Brien

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Evolution in Journalist Security

2012-02-22T04:34:01Z

The danger of covering violent street protests has become a significant risk for journalists, alongside combat and targeted killings. Sexual assault, organized crime, and digital vulnerability are also hazards. The security industry is struggling to keep up. By Frank Smyth

Attacks on the Press: From Uprisings, Trends to Watch

2012-02-22T04:20:01Z

The Middle East's political shifts changed conditions for journalists dramatically. The emerging trends favor free expression, but are filled with ambiguity and depend on the political configurations to emerge after the revolutionary dust has settled. By Mohamed Abdel Dayem

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Journalists Killed

2012-02-21T21:37:14Z

Murders decline, but fatalities rise during coverage of protests. Photographers and freelancers pay an especially high price. Pakistan is the world's most dangerous nation.

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Tunisia

2012-02-21T05:11:00Z

The press enjoyed new freedom after Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in January amid widespread protests, although a photographer was killed covering the unrest. The release of veteran journalist Fahem Boukadous after several months in prison was welcome news for a press corps accustomed to continued harassment and detention during Ben Ali's 23-year reign. News media were able to report freely during parliamentary elections in October; no major press freedom violations were reported during the voting. But throughout the year, journalists were still vulnerable to assault. In May, plainclothes police attacked several local and international journalists who were covering anti-government demonstrations. Licenses were issued to more than 100 new publications during the year, but some vestiges of censorship lingered. Hannibal TV, a station owned by a Ben Ali relative, was forced off the air for more than three hours in January.

Tunisia arrests three journalists over nude photo

2012-02-16T22:28:34Z

New York, February 16, 2012--Three Tunisian journalists were arrested Wednesday for publishing a nude photo in a Tunisian daily, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to release them immediately.

Tunisian court should drop prison term given to journalist

2012-02-06T19:04:40Z

New York, February 6, 2012--A Tunisian appeals court should throw out the prison sentence against journalist Abdel Aziz al-Jaridi at a February 10 hearing and authorities should use his case as an opportunity to break from the repressive practices of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's era, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Journalists still being assaulted in Tunisia

2012-01-13T15:53:33Z

New York, January 13, 2012-- The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns recent attacks on the press in Tunisia. A journalist was assaulted while covering a protest at the interior ministry Wednesday, and two female journalists were assaulted last week.

More than a dozen journalists assaulted in Tunisia

2011-05-09T20:56:33Z

New York, May 9, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists called on the Tunisian authorities today to restrain from attacking journalists reporting on anti-government demonstrations after plainclothes police physically assaulted 15 local and international journalists on Friday.

Attacks on the Press 2010: Middle East and North Africa Analysis

2011-02-15T05:51:00Z

Suppression Under the Cover of National Security

By Mohamed Abdel Dayem

Relying on an extensive network of sources in the military, government, and Islamist groups, Yemeni freelance journalist Abdulelah Shaea had become a frequent and pointed critic of the administration's counterterrorism efforts. By July, President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government had enough, dispatching security agents to seize and roughly interrogate Shaea for several hours about his reporting.