Prominent Tunisian journalist jailed for defamation
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Mohammed Boughalleb faced charges of insulting a public official, his lawyer saidImage caption: Mohammed Boughalleb faced charges of insulting a public official, his lawyer said
A court in Tunisia has sentenced a prominent journalist to six months in prison for defaming a civil servant, according to his lawyer.
Both Mohammed Boughalleb's brother and attorney said he had faced charges of insulting a public official.
He was detained in the capital, Tunis, last month following a complaint from the official who works in the religious affairs ministry.
Reports say the official accused Boughalleb of "damaging her honour and reputation" in Facebook posts and in the local media.
Mr Boughalleb, a radio journalist, is known as an outspoken critic of President Kais Saied.
The head of the national journalists' union, Zied Dabbar, said the incident was the latest attempt by the state to intimidate journalists.
The international media organisation, Reporters Without Borders, has warned of growing restrictions on journalists in Tunisia.
Photos documenting the after-effects of Ethiopia's civil war in Tigray, the perception of disability in Madagascar, migration from Mauritania and unemployment in Tunisia have won awards for "documenting some of the most pressing issues facing the world today".
The photographers behind these four projects were among those who scooped regional prizes in the annual World Press Photo competition.
Four global winners will be announced on 18 April.
Valim-babena (the duty of grown children to help their parents) by Lee-Ann Olwage: "Dada Paul and his granddaughter Odliatemix get ready for church in Antananarivo, Madagascar. He has lived with dementia for 11 years. For much of that time his family assumed he had 'gone mad' or attributed the symptoms to alcohol consumption. Only his daughter Fara noticed something different and continued caring for him."Image caption: Valim-babena (the duty of grown children to help their parents) by Lee-Ann Olwage: "Dada Paul and his granddaughter Odliatemix get ready for church in Antananarivo, Madagascar. He has lived with dementia for 11 years. For much of that time his family assumed he had 'gone mad' or attributed the symptoms to alcohol consumption. Only his daughter Fara noticed something different and continued caring for him."
Felipe Dana and Renata Brito/World Press PhotoCopyright: Felipe Dana and Renata Brito/World Press Photo
Adrift by Felipe Dana and Renata Brito: "Adrift is a digital investigation that combines writing, photography, video and graphics into an immersive presentation that retraces the voyage of 43 people lost in the Atlantic as they tried to reach Europe. The
project is accompanied by a 13-minute short documentary that takes viewers behind the scenes of the two-year-long investigation."Image caption: Adrift by Felipe Dana and Renata Brito: "Adrift is a digital investigation that combines writing, photography, video and graphics into an immersive presentation that retraces the voyage of 43 people lost in the Atlantic as they tried to reach Europe. The
project is accompanied by a 13-minute short documentary that takes viewers behind the scenes of the two-year-long investigation."
Zied Ben Romdhane/World Press PhotoCopyright: Zied Ben Romdhane/World Press Photo
The Escape by Zied Ben Romdhane: "Youths watch a soccer
game near a chemical plant in Chott-Essalam, Gabès, Tunisia. Nearly 5,000 people work in the region’s chemical industry, but new hires from the region are low. In Gabès, unemployment stands at 24% overall and more than 50% among young
people, according to figures reported in 2021 by non-profit newsroom Coda Media."Image caption: The Escape by Zied Ben Romdhane: "Youths watch a soccer
game near a chemical plant in Chott-Essalam, Gabès, Tunisia. Nearly 5,000 people work in the region’s chemical industry, but new hires from the region are low. In Gabès, unemployment stands at 24% overall and more than 50% among young
people, according to figures reported in 2021 by non-profit newsroom Coda Media."
Vincent Haiges/World Press PhotoCopyright: Vincent Haiges/World Press Photo
Returning Home from War by Vincent Haiges: "Kibrom Berhane (24) greets his mother for the first time since he joined
the Tigray Defence Forces, two years earlier... He fought until wounded by a grenade, losing his leg, a month before the peace agreement. Impressed by Kibrom's determination to return to his everyday life, the photographer wanted to show the aftermath of the war, revealing its hidden consequences."Image caption: Returning Home from War by Vincent Haiges: "Kibrom Berhane (24) greets his mother for the first time since he joined
the Tigray Defence Forces, two years earlier... He fought until wounded by a grenade, losing his leg, a month before the peace agreement. Impressed by Kibrom's determination to return to his everyday life, the photographer wanted to show the aftermath of the war, revealing its hidden consequences."
Video caption: Oscars: Kaouther Ben Hania, 'Four Daughters' director gets second nominationOscars: Kaouther Ben Hania, 'Four Daughters' director gets second nomination
Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania has received her second oscar nomination.
France expels Tunisian imam accused of hate speech
ShutterstockCopyright: Shutterstock
Mahjoub Mahjoub was an imam in the town of Bagnols-sur-Ceze in southern FranceImage caption: Mahjoub Mahjoub was an imam in the town of Bagnols-sur-Ceze in southern France
France has expelled a Tunisian preacher accused of hate speech, the country's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has said.
He was sent back to Tunisia via a Thursday evening flight, the Reuters news agency reported, citing French media reports.
The expulsion order, according to French media, says he promoted an "intolerant and violent" version of Islam that would encourage behaviour against French values, discrimination against women, "tensions with the Jewish community" and "jihadist radicalisation".
Mr Mahjoubi caused controversy after a video of him describing the "tricolour flag" as "a satanic flag" with "no value with Allah" went viral earlier this week.
He did not specify which flag he was talking about, but many assumed he meant the French flag, which has three colours.
Mr Mahjoubi denied any wrongdoing and said that the statement in the video was misinterpreted.
His lawyers say he will appeal.
The preacher was expelled under a new immigration law that makes it easier for the French government to forcibly remove foreign residents from the country.
"This is the demonstration that the immigration law, without which such a rapid expulsion would not have been possible, makes France stronger. We won't let anything go," Mr Darmanin said.
Opposition politicians have accused the government of President Emmanuel Macron of pandering to the far right.
Jailed Tunisian opposition leader starts hunger strike
Mike Thomson
BBC World Service News
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Rached Ghannouchi has accused the president of mounting a coupImage caption: Rached Ghannouchi has accused the president of mounting a coup
The jailed head of Tunisia’s Islamic opposition Ennahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, has joined a hunger strike by other political detainees to mark a year since their detention began.
Mr Ghannouchi – who has accused Tunisia’s President Kaïs Saïed of mounting a coup – was given a three-year prison sentence earlier this month after being convicted for accepting external financing.
President Saïed has closed the Ennahda party’s headquarters, jailed many leading political opponents and critical journalists and reduced the independence of the country’s courts.
He claims the measures were necessary to prevent chaos and root out corruption.
Tunisians missing at sea after attempting to reach Italy
Mike Thomson
BBC World Service News
BBCCopyright: BBC
Tunisia’s National Guard says at least 17 Tunisian migrants who were in a boat heading for Italy are missing.
Those aboard, who include a five-year-old child, set sail in a fishing vessel from Bizerte in northern Tunisia last week.
Coastguards and naval forces backed-up by helicopters are searching for them.
Tunisia has taken over from Libya as the main departure point for migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa.
Uproar as prominent Tunisian activist gets suspended jail term
AFPCopyright: AFP
Chaima Issa has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence for insulting President Kais SaiedImage caption: Chaima Issa has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence for insulting President Kais Saied
Political and human rights groups have criticised the sentencing of prominent Tunisian activist and opposition figure Chaima Issa by a military court.
The court on Wednesday handed Issa a one-year suspended prison sentence for offending Tunisia's President Kais Saied.
She was also found guilty of spreading rumours to harm public security and inciting soldiers to disobey orders, the AFP news agency reported, citing Issa's lawyer Dalila Ben Mbarek.
Amnesty International has termed Issa's conviction "outrageous", adding that "her case was brought by an increasingly repressive government that will stop at nothing to silence voices of dissent".
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Issa's party, The National Salvation Front, have also criticised Issa's trial and sentencing by a military court, even though she is a civilian.
"Tunisian authorities should immediately stop prosecuting activists simply for criticising President Kais Saied's power grab and unjustly trying civilians before military courts," Human Rights Watch said.
President Saied has been accused of authoritarian practices including cracking down on dissenters since he dissolved parliament and the government in 2021, granting himself more powers.
A historic synagogue in Tunisia has been heavily damaged amid anti-Israel
protests.
A video and images widely shared on social media showed
hundreds of protesters setting fire to the synagogue in the central Tunisian city
of Al Hammah.
It is said to have happened soon after the deadly blast in
Gaza on Tuesday that killed hundreds of people, which has been blamed on
Israel by most of the Arab world. Israel attributed it to a misfired rocket by
a Palestinian militant group.
The synagogue, previously damaged in the 2011 Arab Spring
protests, is not an active worship site. It houses the tomb of a 16th
Century rabbi and was a historic pilgrimage site.
“Our primary concern is the safety and well-being of
Tunisia's Jewish community. We are closely monitoring the situation and are in
close contact with community leaders,” it said.
Tunisia has a long Jewish history - Jewish people were present in
North Africa before the arrival of Islam or Christianity.
Of the 100,000 that were there before the creation of Israel
in 1948, only about 1,500 remain.
