President of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (French: SNJT) Zied Dabbar Monday condemned the issuance of a detention warrant for journalist Zied El Héni and called on journalists to attend a meeting on January 3 to consider possible measures of escalation.

The public prosecutor issued earlier on Monday a detention warrant for El Héni for “insulting others on social media” pursuant to Article 86 of the Telecommunications Code. A hearing was set for January 10.

This decision is a clear message from the authorities that little regard is paid to freedom and compliance with legal procedures, Dabbar told reporters outside the Tunis Court of First Instance.

The decision reflects “the excessive use of judicial power and the apparent desire to harm El Héni and silence all journalists and all those who dare express an opinion about a minister or an official,” he added.

Lawyer Ayachi Hammami said El Héni had not appeared before the investigating judge.

The decision to bring El Héni before the Criminal C
hamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance was made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office pursuant to Article 86 of the Telecommunications Code, he added.

Hammami said it would have been wiser to schedule a hearing for January 3 while keeping the journalist at liberty.

A protest rally was held Monday outside the Tunis Court of First Instance, at the call of the SNJT. The protest came in reponse to December 30 decision to extend El Héni’s detention in police custody by 48 hours.

El Héni’s family, journalists and civil society activists took part in this protest rally and decried “the instrumentalisation of the judiciary to harass journalists and opponents of the regime in power. ”
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse