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Tunisia: Anger Over Decision to Imprison Journalist Who Criticized Trade Minister

Tunisian journalist Zeid El-Heni (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tunisian journalist Zeid El-Heni (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Tunisia: Anger Over Decision to Imprison Journalist Who Criticized Trade Minister

Tunisian journalist Zeid El-Heni (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tunisian journalist Zeid El-Heni (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Tunisia on Tuesday witnessed widespread anger among human rights activists and politicians over a judicial decision ordering that prominent journalist Zeid El-Heni be detained and tried on charges of defamation, days after he criticized the trade minister.

El-Heni will have his first court hearing on Jan. 10 on the charge of “defaming others on social media,” his lawyer Ayachi Hammami told reporters.

He was arrested on Thursday after he made comments about Kalthoum Ben Rejeb on local radio during an interview that was shared on Facebook, Tunis Afrique Presse agency said.

Tunisia's journalists union demanded his immediate release, calling his detention a “violation of legal provisions governing the trial of reporters.”

A group of human rights organizations and political figures expressed their broad solidarity with El-Heni.

If the charges against him are proven, El-Heni faces a prison term of one to two years, and a fine of one hundred dinars ($33) to one thousand dinars ($333), for the charge of causing harm to others on social media.

Freedom of speech and media were key gains for Tunisians after the 2011 revolution that ousted autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered the “Arab Spring” protests.

But activists and journalists say freedom of speech has been deteriorating since President Kais Saied seized wide powers in 2021. Saied has said his actions were needed to save Tunisia from chaos under what he calls a corrupt elite.

Deputy Abdul Razzaq Awaidat, the leader of the People's Movement, and a supporter of President Said’s policy since 2021, said the trial of journalists according to Presidential Decree 54 violated the rest of Tunisian laws, including Decree 115 that regulates the press and media sector in Tunisia.

He, therefore, expressed his solidarity with journalist El-Heni.

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Sudanese Stakeholders Hold Roundtable Talks in Geneva

A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
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Sudanese Stakeholders Hold Roundtable Talks in Geneva

A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)
A previous meeting of the coordination of Tagadum with the officials of the African Mechanism in Addis Ababa. (Tagadum on Facebook)

Geneva has hosted a third “roundtable” of meetings involving Sudanese political and civil groups aimed at bridging the gap between the country’s warring parties. These talks, coordinated by the French organization Promediation, follow similar meetings held previously in Cairo and Geneva. The primary goals are to negotiate a ceasefire and facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians.

The two-day meetings, which began on Monday, include representatives from the Coordination of Democratic Civil Forces (Tagadum), the pro-army Democratic Bloc coalition, and armed movements aligned with the bloc. However, some groups have announced their boycott of the meetings.

The Democratic Bloc has shown conflicting stances on attending the Geneva talks. Mohammed Zakaria, spokesperson for the bloc and a member of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), announced his group’s decision not to participate.

Omar Khalafallah, a leader in the Democratic Unionist Party and another bloc spokesperson, refuted Zakaria’s statement, insisting that the bloc would attend the meetings to promote a national vision.

A source within the Democratic Bloc told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meetings revealed significant internal divisions in the coalition. The JEM, led by current Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, appears to be charting its own course, which the source described as a form of defection.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Sharif Mohammed Osman, a leader in Tagadum and the political secretary of the Sudanese Congress Party, explained that the meetings seek to achieve consensus on ending the war through negotiated solutions, starting with a humanitarian truce to ensure aid delivery and the opening of safe corridors.

These measures are considered preliminary steps toward a ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the conflict, he underlined.

A wide array of civilian leaders are participating in the talks, including key figures from Tagadum, such as Sudanese Congress Party leader Omar Al-Dukair, Federal Gathering Party leader Babiker Faisal, and head of the Sudan Liberation Movement – Transitional Council Al-Hadi Idris.

Osman expressed optimism that the participants would issue a unified final statement addressing the peaceful resolution of the war and agreeing on a humanitarian truce to facilitate aid delivery.

In October, Cairo hosted a similar meeting, which resulted in a final statement signed by the participating groups, except for the Sudan Liberation Movement – Minni Minnawi faction and the JEM – Jibril Ibrahim faction, which refused to endorse the Cairo declaration despite attending the discussions.

Promediation, a French organization supported by the French and Swiss foreign ministries, has played a consistent role in Sudanese affairs. Since June 2022, it has organized roundtable discussions, initially focusing on negotiations between Darfuri armed movements before expanding its scope to include Sudanese political and civil forces in the wake of the war.