Famous Tunisian journalist Zied El Heni arrested
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - A leading figure on the Tunisian media scene, Zied El Heni, was kept in detention on Wednesday, a day after he was arrested on charges of insulting the President of the Republic, according to his lawyer, Dalila Msaddek.
Known for his outspokenness even in the days of the autocratic former president, he was the subject of a spectacular arrest on Tuesday by a dozen police officers who went to his home in the Cité des Journalistes in Ariana, a suburb of the capital, presented him with a judicial summons and took him straight to the El-Aouina National Guard barracks in Tunis, according to the testimony of his wife Thouraya.
She had to protest vehemently before finally being authorized by the National Guard officers to give her husband the medication he must take because of his particularly fragile state of health.
El Heni has been undergoing anti-cancer treatment for some time, according to those close to him. After questioning by the 5th Central Brigade for Combating Telecommunications Crime, without his lawyers present, he was taken into custody.
Under the highly controversial Decree 54 promulgated by President Kaïs Saied, which governs the offences of attacking state officials and disseminating false information, he faces up to 10 years' imprisonment if convicted.
According to his lawyer, the journalist was arrested following an appearance on a private radio station in which he satirically questioned the meaning of the charge of insulting the President of the Republic.
"It can be the case when a president is slapped, or given an egg, or when someone passes him a date," he said, to the hilarity of the columnists present.
The arrest of this "rebel journalist" provoked a wave of sympathy in the media and among civil society organizations.
In a statement, the Tunisian Journalists' Union expressed its "total support" for El Heni and called for a demonstration to demand his release.
In a petition posted on the Facebook social network, dozens of journalists called on the authorities to immediately release journalist El-Heni and drop the charges against him.
The signatories believe that the statements made by the "hunted journalist" are at the heart of his profession, which consists in interpreting and commenting on events of public interest.
They expressed their solidarity with the family of journalist El Heni, calling on all trade unions and human rights organizations to defend freedom of the press and expression, which has been under threat since the promulgation of the notorious Decree 54.
For its part, the National Commission for the Defence of Freedoms and Democracy denounced the haste with which he was taken into custody and the fact that his lawyers were not allowed to attend his interrogation, in flagrant violation of the rights of the defence guaranteed by law.
It sees this arrest as a new stage in the campaign launched last February, which has led to the imprisonment of dozens of opponents of the regime "without any legal basis".
The Commission called on all democratic forces campaigning for democracy to intensify their efforts to secure the release of political prisoners and the repeal of decrees restricting freedoms.
-0- PANA BB/IS/BBA/RA 21June2023
