Tunisian journalist placed in custody over comments about military

By Adel Thabeti

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – A Tunisian judge placed a journalist in custody on Monday over comments he made about the military, according to his defense lawyer.

Samir Dilou said in a Facebook post that journalist Salah Attia “was imprisoned over his recent statements to Al Jazeera television.”

Attia told the Doha-based broadcaster on Saturday that Tunisian President Kais Saied had asked the military to shut the offices of the country’s powerful UGTT labor union ahead of a general strike called for June 16.

The journalist claimed that the army told the UGTT that it had rejected the president’s request.

For its part, the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists reiterated its rejection of military trials for civilians, adding that it was closely following the journalist’s case.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis since July 25, 2021, when Saied dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority, in a move decried by opponents as a “coup.” He later dissolved the parliament in March after lawmakers held a session to revoke his measures.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar