Ghazi Chaouachi, lawyer and former secretary general of the Popular Current party, will appear next Tuesday before the investigating judge at the Tunis Court of First Instance to be heard in a complaint filed against him by the Minister of Justice, on the basis of the decree-law No. 2022-54, relating to the fight against offences relating to information and communication systems. Ayachi Hammami, member of the defence committee, called on Saturday in a statement to mobilise for his client’s cause and to work to have this decree-law annulled, which he described as “a sword hanging over every free voice and undermining the foundations of the profession of journalism and freedom of expression and information”. Minister of Justice, Leila Jaffel, had filed a complaint against Ghazi Chaouchi following a statement he made to the media claiming that Prime Minister Najla Bouden had submitted her resignation to the President of the Republic and that the latter had not accepted it. He also claimed that there were conflicts behind the scenes regarding his succession. Chaouachi has been arrested since February 24 for “plotting against the internal and external security of the state”. Political activists and leaders of opposition political parties are also arrested in connection with this case. They include Abdelhamid Jelassi, Lazhar Akremi, Khayam Turki, Issam Chebbi, Chaima Issa and Jawhar Ben Mbarek. In early March, President of the Republic, Kais Saied, had stressed, during a meeting with the Minister of Justice, that “the plotters against the internal and external security of the state cannot continue to be the victims”. The real victim, he said, is the people who are deprived of their right to health and the attributes of a dignified life.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse