22 Feb 12 | Digital Freedom, Middle East and North Africa
On 22 February the Cassation Court of Tunis (Tunisia’s highest court of appeal) overturned a verdict ordering Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) to filter pornography on the internet. The court has sent the case back to the Court of Appeal.
On May, 26, 2011, the Court of First Instance issued a ruling ordering the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI), to filter X-rated websites. On August, 15, 2011, the ruling was affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Tunisian free speech advocates fear that blocking access to pornography would be used as pretext to block other content, and would pave the way for a return to internet censorship.
The ATI is technically incapable of undertaking the role of internet censor. This what Moez Chakchouk, CEO of the agency said, in an interview with Index three weeks ago, he said the agency had neither the financial or legal backing to enforce web blocking.
In a press release this afternoon the agency said it will “continue working towards the development of Internet in Tunisia and to act as an IXP (Internet Exchange Point), in a transparent and neutral way towards all”.
20 Feb 12 | Middle East and North Africa
Nasreddine Ben Saida, the general director of the Arabic-language daily newspaper Attounissia, has become the first media executive to be jailed in post Ben Ali era. Ben Saida, was not jailed for criticising the President, nor the government. He was jailed because his newspaper published a front page photo of Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira covering the breasts of his naked girlfriend, the German model, Lena Gercke.
Nasreddine Ben Saida was arrested on 15 February 15 along with the newspaper’s editor, Habib Guizani, and journalist Mohammed Hedi Hidri. On 18 February the general prosecutor decided to free Guizani and Hidri, but Ben Saida remains in prison. The publisher has reportedly started a hunger strike.
The arrests were not made under the country’s recently ratified press law, instead the prosecutor employed article 121 of the criminal code (ratified in May, 2001). It prohibits the publishing and distribution of content that is “likely to disturb public order and decency”. If found guilty Ben Saida faces up to five years in prison.
The National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists condemned the prosecutor’s actions as “legal abuse” because article 13 of the new press legislation states that journalists “cannot be prosecuted in connection with their work unless a violation of the provisions of this decree-law is proved.”
The arrest is surprising because “indecent” photos are not strange to Tunisia society, both foreign and Tunisian magazines publish such photos. For instance, the monthly French speaking magazine Tunivisions published a front page photo of a semi-naked Tunisian model, on its August 2011 issue. No legal action was taken against the magazine.
Khedira spoke out in support of the journalists, telling German newspaper De Welt:
I think it is very, very sad and a great shame that something like this could happen. I respect the different religions that there are, and the faiths people have. But I can’t understand why people aren’t allowed to express themselves freely.
17 Feb 12 | Middle East and North Africa
On 16 February a court postponed the trial of Samir Feriani to 1 March. Ferani is charged with “distributing false information”, and “accusing a public employee of violating law without proof”.
Feriani, a former senior official at the Interior Ministry, became known to the public in May 2011 when he published in two local newspapers, L’Audace, and L’expert, a letter in which he accused high ranking officials at the Ministry of being responsible for the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising. Before publishing the letter, Feriani addressed it to the Interior Minister at that time Habib Essid, who seems to have ignored it.
In his letter Feriani also claimed that classified documents showing collaboration between ousted Tunisian President Ben Ali and the Israeli secret service Mossad were intentionally destroyed by officials in the ministry.
After the allegations were made, Feriani was arrested and taken into military detention on 19 May 2011. He described his arrest as a “murder attempt”. “A car sought to crash over me”, he said.
On 22 September, a military court in Tunis provisionally set him free, acquitted him of the charge of “harming the external security of the state”, and deferred his case to a civil court.
“I do trust the judiciary…just like the military justice proved my innocence, the civil justice will do the same”, Feriani toldIndex a few days before the 16 February hearing.
He also denied that he is on a hunger strike, saying: “I would like to assure the public opinion, that I feel high in my spirits.”
Feriani is still plagued by the allegations made against him. On 1 February he was sacked from his job at the Interior Ministry. “The decision to sack me was abusive…there is a smear campaign organised against me by the old secret police”.
Feriani is often described as Tunisia’s first prisoner of conscience in the post Ben Ali era.
15 Feb 12 | Middle East and North Africa
On Sunday, 13 February, the Tunis court of first instance ordered Cheker Besbes, a journalist for the private radio station Mosaique FM, to pay a fine of 200 dinars (around GBP £82), for allegedly videotaping a hearing in trial of Nessma TV employees. The TV station’s general director and two staff are accused of ““violating sacred values” by showing French-Irianian film Persepolis, which includes images of Allah.
Besbes admits he had a camera with him in the courtroom, but denies videotaping the hearing. “Besides,” he said in an interview with the blog collective Nawaat.org, “there is no law that prohibits entering the courtroom with a camera. Using it is indeed illegal, but in my case it did not happen.”
Besbes insists that the court punished him without even checking his camera’s footage. “They have condemned me for filming inside the courtroom, without taking the legal procedures to find out if I did so or not”, he said.
Justice Minister Nourreddine Bhiri’s decision to ban filming of the trial came as a surprise to journalists, who had been allowed to film previous trials, among them the trial in absentia of former President Zeine El Abidin Ben Ali and the first session in the hearing of the Nessma TV case.
Nabil Karoui, general director of Nessma TV, a privately-owned television station, and two of his employees are accused of “violating sacred values” and “disturbing the public order” for broadcasting the French-Iranian film Persepolis.
Besbes and his lawyers referred the case to the Court of Cassation, Tunisia’s highest court.
“The problem is not whether the fine of 200 dinars represents a considerable proportion of my salary,” said Besbes. “We are against the sentence and I have decided along with my lawyers to take the case to the cassation court. We were expecting a non-suit, because I’m innocent,” he told Nawaat.
