In a written statement from Ennahda in Tunisia, it was said that “The targeting of media outlets such as Zitouna channel and their members by violating the freedom of the press, and the referral of journalists to military courts without justification will have dangerous consequences.”
It was pointed out that the political language in the country has recently evoked hate, incitement, treason, and separatist expressions, and such discourses were condemned.
Noting that they are concerned about the political pressure on the judiciary, Ennahda emphasized that after the extraordinary decisions of Tunisian President Kais Saied on July 25, a language had been brought up that is diametrically opposed to the basics of living together in the political arena, democracy, and the culture of dialogue.
Amer Ayad of the national television channel Zitouna in Tunisia was arrested by a military court on October 3 on the grounds that he “insulted President Kais Saied” during the program he was presenting.
Zitouna was also raided yesterday by security forces and members of the Independent Audio-Visual Communication High Council, and, according to reports, technical equipment in the studio was confiscated.
The Tunisian President issued new decrees expanding his powers on September 22, after the Assembly suspended its work on July 25 and dismissed the prime minister.
With the new decrees, extraordinary arrangements were made regarding the legislative and executive powers of the president, and the temporary commission that oversaw the constitutionality of the bills was abolished.
In a statement made by the Tunisian Journalists’ Union on October 6, it was noted that the pressure on the press increased after the decisions taken by Saied.
In the statement, President Saied was called upon to fulfill his previous promises on the protection of rights and freedoms.
