The National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) said that violence against journalists in June had kept the same frequency as in April and May. In the monitoring unit's annual report, the union indicated that the unit had reported 16 attacks against journalists out of a total of 20 complaints lodged via social networks or by the complainants themselves. The attacks were committed against 27 people, including 15 women, 24 of whom were journalists and 3 photojournalists. Those attacked work in 18 media outlets, including 8 radio stations, 4 TV channels, 3 news agencies, 2 electronic newspapers and one print newspaper. The outlets involved are 9 public media, 7 private media, one confiscated media and one community media. Public officials topped the list of attackers, with 4 violations committed mainly by deputies, according to the same source. The SNJT called, in this regard, for the immediate cancellation of the ban on coverage of the work of parliamentary committees and emphasised the need to respect the citizen's right to information. Besides, it pointed out the need to give all necessary importance to the draft laws organising the freedoms of expression, publishing and the press. The union also called on the Prime Ministry to respect the right of citizens to access information and to respect the freedom of journalistic work and review its communication policies. The SNJT further called on the government to avoid circulars that illegally hinder journalists' access to information, underlining the need to review the decision banning media coverage of anti-state conspiracy cases.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse