Tunisian journalist Zied El Heni, renowned for his radio columns and arrested on Tuesday June 20 for criticizing an article of the criminal code on cases of contempt of the Head of State, announced himself, Thursday morning, his release. On leaving court, Mr. Heni, 59, told the media that he “met this morning with the deputy attorney general, who decided to let [him] go free”. But “investigations are continuing,” he said.
He had been arrested on Tuesday evening, a few hours after having commented in a mocking tone on an article of the penal code relating to the crime of insulting the head of state, in this case President Kaïs Saïed, in a morning radio program private MFI. The article in question provides for a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment for anyone who “commits an offense against the Head of State”.
In this regard, the journalist pointed out that this was only “a discussion around article 67” on contempt of the president. “I haven’t harmed anyone,” he said.
Recalling having been imprisoned under the dictatorship of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali and having also had legal troubles with the Islamo-conservative Ennahda movement in 2013, when it dominated Parliament and government coalitions, he added: “S’ they think they can silence me, they are wrong. »
The National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) had called on its members to rally outside the court on Thursday to demand Mr. El Heni’s release, calling his arrest a “flagrant violation of the law”. In May, Tunisian journalists demonstrated to denounce the government’s “repressive” policy, which they believe uses justice to intimidate and subjugate the media. According to the SNJT, around twenty journalists are being prosecuted for their work.
Local and international NGOs denounce a decline in freedoms in Tunisia since President Saïed assumed full powers on July 25, 2021.