The National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) stressed that press freedom in Tunisia is undergoing a "dangerous turn", and a regression at all levels.
In its report published on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the union noted that legal proceedings against journalists, legislation hostile to press freedom and policies marking a state of exception are at the root of this regression.
The union sounded the alarm about what it described as "threats to freedom of expression and the press", a major achievement of the Tunisian Revolution, according to the report.
In the same context, the SNJT mentioned in its report that the previous period was marked by a series of trials of opinion on the basis of Decree-Law No. 54 on the fight against crimes related to information and communication systems.
It pointed out that these prosecutions were largely aimed at journalists on the direct instructions of the Executive, saying that the danger lies in the return to prison sentences in relation to trials of opinion.
The union's report also criticised the attacks committed with impunity against journalists during their coverage of demonstrations.
It also recorded the return of harassment and police practices against working journalists.
The union also denounced the "campaigns of defamation, intimidation and threats to kill" that journalists face, accusing "electronic militias" belonging to political groups close to the Head of State of being behind these campaigns.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse