Tunisian Weekly Seized as Reporter Faces Court

Tunisian journalist Om Zied (Naziha Rjiba) received a summons to appear before the public prosecutor on 27 October in relation to an article entitled: "They attacked Kalima", published in the 22 October issue of the newspaper Muwatinoun. OLPEC (Observatory for the Freedom of Press, Publishing and Creation) releases an alert as to the press freedom violations taking place in the country.

Daily Tunisian newspapers announced that number 77 of Muwatinoun, newspaper of the opposition party Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberty (Forum démocratique pour le travail et les libertés, FDTL), was seized at the printers for having published "allegations which contravene the law according to article 73 of the Press Code," and that "the case had been sent to the office of the public prosecutor." It pertains to the article signed by Om Zied (pen name of Naziha Rjiba.)

The most surprising element is that the Editor of Muwatinoun, Mustapha ben Jaafar, had not received any notification of a seizure, nor the summons, and had been apprised this morning of the seizure of his paper, which was supposed to be available in news kiosks this morning, by reading the official daily papers.

Naziha Rjiba, who is editor-in-chief of "Kalima" and vice president of l'OLPEC, was already the subject of judicial harassment in 2003 during the famous "affair of the 170 Euros", when she was charged for an "infraction of the rules of currency exchange," for having 170 Euros in her possession. Because of her writing, Naziha Rjiba has been the object of continuous and varied harassment, targeting her whole family. This has ranged from campaigns of defamation, and even the use of a faked pornography video, to the seizure of assets and the financial strangling of the family, as well as threats to the freedom and security of her children. Recently, her husband has been sent to prison arbitrarily following an unfortunate road accident.

OLPEC:

- views the summons of Naziha Rjiba by the public prosecutor as a step towards another trial of opinion which targets a well-known writer, journalist and human rights defender.
- denounces the arbitrary seizure of Muwatinounfor having opened its columns to an article expressing freedom of opinion, and this only one week after having been blocked from distribution at news kiosks under pressure from the authorities.
- demands the end to all forms of judicial harassment against Naziha Rjiba and the lifting of all restrictions on the paper Muwatinoun.
-reminds the Tunisian government of its job to protect the rights of all its citizens without exception, as well as its international obligations related to freedom of expression