Here Are the Reasons Behind Closing Al-Zaytouna Tunisian TV Channel

"After more than 25 years in the Tunisiaian television news service, I announced my resignation from the news department. Good luck to all Amana News Section.” With these brief words, the former news editor of national television chose to resign from this sensitive section. 

The resignation of Emad Barboura, which came as a surprise and unusual, by posting to the public on his Facebook profile, has reopened the debate in Tunisia about media freedom and the independence of Tunisiaian television in its editorial line, more than 10 years after the January 14, 2011 revolution, and after spending millions of dollars from home and abroad. 

Three days before his resignation, Awatif Al-Dali dismissed the new Director-General of Tunisiaian television, Imad Barboura, from the editor-in-chief of the news, to replace him with another journalist, Saida Ben Hammadi, one of the symbols of ben Ali's regime, making the main news bulletin a cover for presidential activity and topics mainly supporting Tunisiaian President Kais Saied.

Obvious Anger

After the July 2021 decisions made by Kais Saied, signs of fear for freedom of the press and expression are emerging by trying to silence every media outlet that expresses an opinion contrary to supporters of the Tunisiaian president.

Two weeks before Barboura's dismissal, Tunisiaian President Kais Saied accused the media of opacity of his activity and his efforts to bring aid and vaccines against Corona, saying: "In the news tape yesterday, they talk about the skins of the sacrifices for Al-Adha Feast before they talk about calls with heads of friendly states, as if the issue of leather is more important! At least they had to respect other countries."

The Tunisiaian president's statement, which revealed the Tunisiaian president's great anger at the media, which stands the same distance from various political parties in Tunisia, prompted Barboura to respond by saying that "criticism is legitimate, but questioning integrity is unacceptable."

Barboura said in a statement to Shems FM that there is no blackout on presidential activity, and that public opinion can see and verify the bulletin on YouTube, pointing out that the order of the bulletin makes sense.

The Tunisiaian president's practical response was not long delayed, and two days after his statement, he carried out a coup, in which he succeeded in dismissing the prime minister, freezing the work of parliament and lifting the immunity of his deputies, and other constitutional measures, which a number of constitutional law experts described as a full-fledged coup, and a setback in the course of the Tunisiaian revolution.

Silencing Outlets

After the coup, radio stations such as Mosaic FM, Radio Diwan and Cap FM have been attacked to the point of demanding their closure. Its employees, such as Elias Gharbi, Haitham al-Makki and Mohammed al-Yousfi, have also been attacked by threatening their physical integrity.

Meanwhile, frozen MP Yasin Ayari was jailed for blog posts he published after July 25, 2021 rejecting the Tunisiaian president's actions, his lawyers showed that Ayari’s imprisonment was due to his rejection of Saied's decisions, which the Tunisiaian authorities deny.

In September, Sousse provincial court spokesman Ali Abdel Mawla announced that Tunisiaian prosecutors had authorized the arrest of six people, including journalists, on suspicion of assaulting internal state security and receiving suspicious funds from abroad.

Abdul Mawla added that the security forces moved to the headquarters of a company in the area of The Great Citadel in Sousse province, without specifying its name, and booked 23 central units of media services, questioned the employees of the institution, and decided to prevent them from traveling and detain them until the completion of the investigation.

The public prosecutor's office also issued a subpoena against the owner of the company, his wife and a third person, who are abroad. The public prosecutor's office did not provide further details of what happened, and who is the outside party accused of financing the company.

Sources said it was a media production company, which has been active since July 2019 and is known for managing a number of Facebook pages for Tunisiaian political parties in the run-up to Tunisia's presidential and legislative elections at the end of 2019.

On 6th of October, Tunisiaian security forces seized equipment belonging to a private television channel close to Ennahda party, on the grounds that it was broadcasting "outside the law", according to the Audiovisual Communication Authority.

"The decision is political," said Lotfi Al-Tawati, editor-in-chief of the channel. "The decision is to punish al-zaytouna for their recent positions on the president's decisions," al-Tawati said. The authorities moved the commission because of its opposition to President Kais Saied.

Since the Tunisiaian president's July 25th  decision to suspend parliament, dismiss Prime Minister Hisham Mashishi and take over the country's authorities, Qatar's Al Jazeera, Tunisia office, has been closed without giving reasons.

Congress Replies

Washington has expressed concern about the targeting of press freedom in Tunisia, calling on President Kais Saied to have a clear road map to return to the democratic path, while Ennahda has warned against pressure on the judiciary.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday in a press briefing that his country is concerned and disappointed by reports from Tunisia about attacks on press freedom and expression.

Price called on the Tunisiaian government to fulfil its obligations to respect human rights.

He also called on The Tunisiaian President and Prime Minister Najla Bouden to respond to the people's call for a clear road map to return to a transparent democratic process involving civil society and various political parties.

Since Saied announced extraordinary measures on July 25, including suspending parliament and dissolving the government, Washington has sent a White House delegation and a congressional delegation to Tunisia, and the two delegations have urged the Tunisiaian president to quickly return to the democratic path.

Joint Statement

On Thursday, the National Union of Tunisiaian Journalists (NJJ) rejected military trials of civilians for their opinions, positions and publications, and called on President Kais Saied to activate his previous commitments to guarantee rights and freedoms.

In a statement, the union said it was a setback to freedom of expression and a blow to democracy and the right to disagree.

Seven Tunisiaian organizations, including the National Union of Tunisiaian Journalists and the Association of Newspaper Directors, described in a statement a week ago what was happening, "by cyber-dragging operations by electronic militias that silence every dissenting voice."

The organizations also called on Tunisiaian President Kais Saied to act to protect journalists and cultural and intellectual actors from "cyber-militia practices against them."

Mohamed Yassin al-Jalasi, the head of Tunisiaian journalists, said in a statement to "The New Arab", what is happening is dangerous and aims to spread terror in the same people who want to express their position on what is happening in Tunisia, citing what happened to university professor Sina Ben Achour, who considered what happened on July 25th unconstitutional, to be attacked, insulted and insulted by supporters of Tunisiaian President Kais Saied, who called him As a president with all the powers in Tunisia, he has the role of protecting journalists, intellectuals and anyone who wants to express his opinion freely, even if he is different from that of others.