Dozens protest in Tunisia over journalist's arrest

Protestors took to the streets on Friday demanding the release of journalist of Ghassen Ben Khalifa. He is the latest journalist to be arrested in what has been described as a campaign to intimidate and silence the press.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff & Agencies

10 September, 2022

Protestors including journalists gather to stage a protest against the detention of journalist Ghassen Ben Khelifa on the charge of suspicion of terrorism. [Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images]

Dozens of people protested in central Tunis on Friday to demand the release of a journalist and activist detained earlier this week and held on suspicion of "terrorism".

Ghassen Ben Khlifa, the editor of website Inhiyez and a prominent pro-Palestinian activist, was arrested at his home on Tuesday.

Police officers also searched the house and seized two computers, according to multiple media reports.

نعرب عن قلقنا إزاء اعتقال واستمرار احتجاز #غسان_بن_خليفة، ناشط سياسي بارز ومحرّر موقع انحياز الإعلامي المستقل، يوم 6 سبتمبر/أيلول، واستجوابه بموجب قانون مكافحة الإرهاب في #تونس بسبب منشورات مزعومة على فيسبوك. pic.twitter.com/FX88JQkBlw
— منظمة العفو الدولية (@AmnestyAR) September 8, 2022

زوجة الصحفي غسان بن خليفة لـ @Tunigate ... التهم الموجهة لغسان سياسية وتتعلق بعمله الصحفي ونشاطه السياسي في مناهضة التطبيع#تونس #صحافة pic.twitter.com/DZcYATIuXf
— Tunigate - بوابة تونس (@Tunigate) September 9, 2022

Beginning of March for Ghassen Ben Khelifa from SNJT towards Avenue Bourguiba pic.twitter.com/6jHWGXEiip
— Ghaya Ben Mbarek غاية بن مبارك (@Ghaya_BM) September 9, 2022

Ben Khlifa has since been remanded in custody, said Amira Mohamed, vice-president of the SNJT journalists' union.

"We have had no explanation for why he was arrested," she told AFP.

"The arrest is one of a series of cases against journalists to intimidate them and silence them, which is a serious threat to freedom of the press in the country."

The SNJT organised Friday's demonstration which brought dozens of activists and journalists onto Habib Bourguiba Avenue in central Tunis, under heavy police guard.

They chanted "Free Ghassen!" and "Stop state oppression!", along with slogans against the police and the nearby interior ministry.

Some carried signs supporting press freedom.

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The New Arab Staff

Tunisia has seen a spike in prosecutions of journalists, including in military courts, since President Kais Saied seized wide-ranging powers in a dramatic move against parliament last year.

Civil society groups have warned of a return to the methods used by security services under autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown in the 2011 revolt that sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.

On August 17, a military court sentenced an anti-Saied journalist to three months in prison for public remarks he made about the president and the armed forces.