Tunisia court frees radio station head arrested in crackdown
Several Mosaique FM journalists have come under scrutiny as the Saied government cracks down on critics.
The head of Tunisia’s most popular radio station, Mosaique FM, was released on bail months after being jailed, along with a litany of figures, including opposition leaders, who criticized President Kais Saied’s bid for power in his focus hands.
A Tunisian appeals court made the decision to release Noureddine Boutar on 1 million dinars ($324,000) bail, but the media chief is still banned from traveling, Mosaique reported Thursday.
“Boutar does not have this amount, especially since the judiciary has frozen all his assets. We are in the process of collecting the amount, so it will be difficult for him to get out today,” his lawyer Dalila Msaddek told AFP news agency.
In March, the European Parliament condemned Saied’s “authoritarian drift” and called for Boutar’s immediate release.
Boutar’s release comes on the heels of two other Mosaique journalists who were questioned by police last week. Haythem El Mekki and his radio host Elyes Gharb are questioned for their comments about the country’s powerful security forces.
Another Mosaique journalist under scrutiny is Khalifa Guesmi, sentenced last week to five years in prison on charges of disclosing national security information, Mosaique said.
As Saeid’s authoritarian shift deepens, dozens of dissidents, activists, journalists and opposition members have been arrested in recent months, prompting condemnations from the international community and human rights groups.
Many of these arrests resulted from charges of conspiracy against state security. Saied, a former law professor who has no previous political experience, has said the moves aim to “preserve the state and its institutions”.
Since his election as president in 2019, the academic turned politician has dismissed the democratically elected government and parliament, expanded control over the judiciary and eroded the independence of the electoral body.
He has also rewritten a new constitution in steps seen as dismantling the democratic gains of the 2011 revolution.
The head of the largest opposition Ennahdha party, Rached Ghannouchi, was recently sentenced to a year in prison, while 17 current or former Ennahdha members have been arrested since December.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized these arrests and warned that the government is determined to decimate the opposition.