United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk on Friday called on Tunisia to stop restricting media freedoms and said it was criminalizing independent journalism since President Kais Saied seized wide powers in 2021.
Freedom of speech and media were key gains for Tunisians after the 2011 revolution that ousted autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered the Arab Spring protests.
But activists and journalists say freedom of speech faces a serious threat under Saied's rule.
Dozens of journalists and activists protested last month against restrictions of freedoms and trials targeting journalists and bloggers.
Turk said that, since July 2021, the UN Human Rights Office in Tunisia has documented 21 cases of alleged human rights violations against journalists.
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