Lotfi Hajji

New York, March 25, 2010—Tunisian authorities banned journalists from attending two press conferences for the launch of local and international human rights reports this week, and is stepping up harassment of journalists overall, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, December 1, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the rising imprisonment of critical journalists in Tunisia. Harassment has been escalating since President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali threatened to prosecute anyone who casts doubt on his reelection for a fifth five-year term in office on October 25. Journalists Zuhair Makhlouf and Taoufik Ben Brik were both sentenced to jail terms in the past week. Ben Brik has filed an appeal and Makhlouf plans to, according to their lawyers. 

New York, November 4, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged that Tunisian police stripped and mistreated journalist Taoufik ben Brik, a well-known contributor to French newspapers and one of the top critics of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, during his arrest on October 29. CPJ urges Ben Ali to order Ben Brik’s immediate release and to end the intensifying campaign of intimidation and assaults against critical reporters, and censorship.

New York, September 24, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Tunisian government-backed smear campaign against the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television station. The campaign has had a negative impact on freedom of expression in Tunisia.

New York, September 8, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Tunisian court’s decision to recognize a pro-government board of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (NSTJ). Police today physically evicted members of the previous independent board from the syndicate’s offices, according to local journalists.

Your Excellency: We are writing to express our grave concern at the detention of our esteemed fellow journalist Maziar Bahari and to request his immediate release. Mr. Bahari has been detained since June 21. No charges have been brought against him, and he has not been granted access to a lawyer. As one of the most impartial and committed journalists in his field, he has reported regularly over the past decade from the Middle East, principally from Iran and Iraq, and provided consistently balanced and insightful reports. As an award-winning documentary filmmaker, he has earned global respect for his work.

The September abduction of writer Slim Boukhdhir was a chilling reminder of the insecurity that critical journalists face in this North African nation. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in power since 1987, continued to operate a virtual police state, despite the moderate image his government vigorously promoted to the rest of the world.

New York, December 31, 2008--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the intimidation of Tunisian journalists who tried to cover efforts Tuesday by the opposition Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) to demonstrate against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Two journalists were assaulted and three faced harassment in Tunis, according to several CPJ interviews.

By Joel Campagna

Tunisia wants you to believe it is a progressive nation that protects human rights. It is, in fact, a police state that aggressively silences anyone who challenges President Ben Ali.

Tunis, Tunisia, July 2, 2008—Jailed Tunisian journalist Slim Boukhdir should be freed immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today as it concluded a 10-day fact-finding mission that examined the government’s pattern of silencing the independent press through harassment, intimidation, and imprisonment.

Boukhdir, a contributor to numerous Tunisian and Arab news Web sites, is serving a one-year term in Sfax Prison, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) south of the capital, Tunis, on what are widely seen as fabricated charges of insulting a public employee, violating “public decency,” and refusing to hand over identification to police. Boukhdir was jailed in November 2007 and convicted the following month.