(RSF/IFEX) – For the second time in six months, President Ben Ali’s regime has decided to take the London-based Arabic-language television station Al Mustakillah to court. Station director Mohammed Elhachmi Hamdi has been informed that a complaint was lodged against him with the Independent Television Commission (ITC, a British body responsible for issuing licenses and […]
(RSF/IFEX) – For the second time in six months, President Ben Ali’s regime has decided to take the London-based Arabic-language television station Al Mustakillah to court. Station director Mohammed Elhachmi Hamdi has been informed that a complaint was lodged against him with the Independent Television Commission (ITC, a British body responsible for issuing licenses and regulating private broadcasting). The station is accused of violating ITC regulations. “Once again, the Tunisian state does not hesitate to use drastic measures to silence opposition voices. It is common knowledge that the regime is behind this complaint. Moreover, we feel directly implicated in this affair since the targeted programme is sponsored by our organisation,” stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard.
“It seems clear to us that the Tunisian authorities are seeking to financially choke the station, knowing full well that it is already in a difficult financial position. Furthermore, RSF does not doubt that the ITC will act impartially in this affair, since Al Mustakillah has done nothing more than exercise its right to inform freely,” Ménard added.
On 17 December 2001, Al Mustakillah director Hamdi was informed by the ITC that a complaint was lodged against his station because of the 2 December broadcast of the programme “Espace francophone”, which is sponsored by RSF. The compaint specifically makes mention of Tunisian journalist Sihem Bensedrine’s remarks about the reasons for her arrest in June. Bensedrine made her remarks in an interview with RSF. She repeated certain statements that she had previously made on the same station and which had led to her earlier imprisonment. She had explained that Judge Jedidi Ghnia did not recognise the presumption of innocence. In August, Judge Ghnia had lodged a complaint against the station with the ITC, but it was rejected. He had claimed that he was libeled during the 17 June broadcast of the programme “Le Grand Maghreb”. Following the interview with Bensedrine, which was broadcast on 2 December, the programme’s host, Jean-Michel Boissier, invited the judge to comment on the affair. Furthermore, in an 18 December letter to the ITC, Hamdi underlined that he always contacted Tunisian government representatives in order to obtain an official comment. This latest legal action follows repeated harassment against the station director and a slander campaign against him in the Tunisian press.
RSF has sponsored the Al Mustakillah programme about freedom of expression called “Espace francophone” since September. The programme is broadcast on the first Sunday of every month.
