Hearing in case of journalist Mohamed Boughalleb postponed until April 17, request for release rejected

Tunis: The court on Wednesday postponed until April 17 the hearing in the case brought against journalist Mohamed Boughalleb by an employee of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and rejected the request for his release, said Hamadi Zaafrani, a member of the journalist's defence team. He added in a statement to TAP that Boughalleb did not attend today's hearing at the Tunis Court of First Instance for health reasons and was transferred to the Rabta Hospital, according to a report received by the court from the prison administration. The lawyers presented their arguments and asked for their client's release, he said. On March 26, the public prosecutor at the Tunis Court of First Instance issued a detention order against Boughalleb and decided to refer him to the Criminal Chamber to be charged with a crime under Article 128 of the Penal Code and Article 86 of the Communications Code, in a case brought against him by an employee of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Zaafarani said the defence team had learned t hat Boughalleb was facing a new complaint under Decree 54, filed against him by a university professor, and that he was due to be heard on Tuesday but was unable to appear before the investigating judge due to his state of health. The National Union of Tunisian Journalists issued a statement on Wednesday calling for the truth to be revealed about the health of journalist Mohamed Boughalleb and for his immediate release. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse