"I am free, I'm happy," said Boukadous after 16 and a half months in hiding.
(RSF/IFEX) – On 24 November 2009, journalist Fahem Boukadous came out of hiding after sixteen and a half months. “I am free, I’m happy,” said Boukadous. The El Hiwar Ettounsi satellite channel journalist emerged free from Gafsa court (400 km south of Tunis) on the morning of 24 November. He was not arrested, but was nonetheless questioned for several hours at the offices of the city’s political police, before being released at approximately 3:00 p.m.
Boukadous had been sentenced in absentia in December 2008 to six years in prison on charges of “forming a criminal association liable to attack persons and their property,” following media coverage of demonstrations in the Gafsa mining region. The sentence was upheld on appeal on 5 February.
Is this the end of a nightmare for Boukadous? The Gafsa court will deliver its verdict on 21 December.
