Around 24 reported aggressions against journalists have been recorded during the month of March, 2015 in Tunisia according to a report of Tunis Center for Press Freedom.
The attack on the Bardo museum in March “revealed difficulties to understand the journalist’s missions whether they were at the heart of the event, or publishing and broadcasting information,” according to the report.
Despite great efforts made during the past few years to improve the dialogue between security and military forces on one side, and the media’s professionals on the other, tensions arose during the Bardo museum attack on March 18.
The Tunis Center for Press Freedom expressed its understanding towards officers shocked and stressed by such operations, but also stressed that journalists faced unfair aggressions. Security forces and other judicial officers had justified their actions by claiming “the disclosure of secret information” to journalists would “risk impeding the investigation or security operations.”
During the month of March this year, the Tunis Center for Freedom of Press recorded 24 aggressions against the press. Thirty-one individuals were victims of aggression, including 13 female journalists and 18 men. Among the news outlets who had reported incidents with security officials were TNN, National TV Channel 1, Nessma TV, Al Jazeera, and radio stations like the National Channel and Mosaique FM, and newspapers such as Echourouk, Ettounsiya and Essahafa.
During that same month, six verbal and five physical aggressions were reported as well as three legal prosecutions, two cases of harassment, four accounts of preventing journalists from carrying out their professional duties, threats, a security investigation as well as going beyond editorial boundaries in publishing an article at one newspaper.
Security force members are at the top of the list accused of harassing journalists with five cases of reported violations. The public prosecutor’s office comes next with four cases. Citizens, such as sports fans, political party members, press company administration officials, and the Ministry of Interior were also reported to have harassed journalists.
All of these reported aggressions occurred primarily in the capital Tunis with 16 cases. There were reports, however, in Kasserine, Sousse, Gafsa, Sidi Bouzid, Sfaz and Nabeul.
The Tunis Center for Press Freedom reminds that legal decree 115 protects the confidentiality of a journalist’s source in pursuit of their duties. These sources can only be revealed with permission of a judge.
Source: http://www.tunisia-live.net/2015/04/17/tunis-center-for-press-freedom-ag...
