(OLPEC/IFEX) – On 29 March 2007, the managing editor of the online newspaper “Kalima”, Omar Mestiri, was summoned by the deputy public prosecutor of the republic, Zied Souidane, to respond to an alleged defamation offence under the Press Code following a complaint filed by lawyer Mohamed Baccar. Mestiri was questioned about an article published on […]
(OLPEC/IFEX) – On 29 March 2007, the managing editor of the online newspaper “Kalima”, Omar Mestiri, was summoned by the deputy public prosecutor of the republic, Zied Souidane, to respond to an alleged defamation offence under the Press Code following a complaint filed by lawyer Mohamed Baccar.
Mestiri was questioned about an article published on 5 September 2006 in “Kalima” in which he reported on the clearing of this lawyer’s name.
The questioning session opened with a conflict with the lawyers. The deputy public prosecutor began by challenging one of the defence lawyers, Mr. Kilani, a member of the Council of the Order of Lawyers, stating that he was identified by the plaintiff as the source of the published information. The lawyers – Ayachi Hammami, Raouf Ayadi, Samir Ben Amor and Tarak Labidi – then protested, replying that Kilani is not accused of anything and that it is not up to the plaintiff to choose the defence’s legal council. The lawyers also raised the question of the legal basis of the proceedings given that the “Kalima” website is blocked in Tunisia and, as a result, publishing information on the site could not have had any impact in the country.
Mestiri was also questioned about the defamatory aspects of his article. He responded that he had proof of what he had written (namely, several definitive rulings condemning lawyer Mohamed Baccar for forgery and fraud, which he is ready to provide. The deputy public prosecutor then asked him to reveal his sources, but he refused to do so based on his right as a journalist not to reveal them.
Mestiri faces between one and three years in prison.
OLPEC:
– demands that the case be closed and believes that Mestiri was only practicing his profession as a journalist
– calls for the repeal of the articles of law that provide for imprisonment for press offences
– notes that the independent newspaper “Kalima” is still deprived of its right to publish in Tunisia and demands that this arbitrary measure be lifted
