SNJT denounces issuance of committal order against Boughalleb

Tunis: There is no justification for the detention of journalist and columnist Mohamed Boughalleb, as he poses no threat and there is no risk of evidence being destroyed,' the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) said on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the public prosecutor at the Court of First Instance in Tunis issued a committal order against Boughalleb for defamation under Article 128 of the Penal Code and Article 86 of the Telecommunications Code. In its statement, the SNJT denounced the "methodical persecution" of journalists for exercising their profession and announced its intention to lodge a complaint against the public prosecutor for "illegal detention" and violation of personal freedom on the basis of Articles 250 and 114 of the Penal Code. The union calls on the President of the Republic to enforce respect for the Constitution and freedom of the press, stressing that the journalists must be tried in accordance with Decree-Law 115 on freedom of the press, printing and publishing. Source : Agence Tunis Afrique Presse