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"The Tunisian public has a right to know about corruption, but journalists who try to report on it in Tunisia face imprisonment, assault and harassment."
"Behind the facade of Tunisia’s economic development and warm ties with the West is an uncompromising stance on critical journalism," he said.
The statement came after a Tunisian court on Tuesday sentenced a television journalist, Fahem Boukadous, to four years in prison for reporting information deemed threatening to the public order.
According to an IPI report published Thursday, several other Tunisian journalists who had reported on corruption or criticised President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali or his family had also been harassed, assaulted or jailed, sometimes on fabricated or vague charges.
These included "insulting behavior towards an official" and "breach of accepted standards of good behavior," IPI said.
Critical reports had also led to journalists' blogs and websites being blocked and newspapers being banned, with some resorting to self-censorship as a result, it noted.
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"Behind the facade of Tunisia’s economic development and warm ties with the West is an uncompromising stance on critical journalism," he said.
The statement came after a Tunisian court on Tuesday sentenced a television journalist, Fahem Boukadous, to four years in prison for reporting information deemed threatening to the public order.
According to an IPI report published Thursday, several other Tunisian journalists who had reported on corruption or criticised President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali or his family had also been harassed, assaulted or jailed, sometimes on fabricated or vague charges.
These included "insulting behavior towards an official" and "breach of accepted standards of good behavior," IPI said.
Critical reports had also led to journalists' blogs and websites being blocked and newspapers being banned, with some resorting to self-censorship as a result, it noted.
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