Tunisia- Amnesty requests Tunisia to stop prosecution of two bloggers for criticising government’s response to COVID-19

According to a statement published on Tuesday by the organisation, two bloggers were detained last week and are facing several criminal charges of “insulting state officials,” “causing disturbances to the public” and defamation. “They have been charged for posting videos on social media alleging that the government has failed to provide adequate compensation to people struggling financially and address shortage of basic food supplies in the market amid COVID-19 pandemic,” the organisation specified.

Quoted as saying in the press release, Deputy Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa Amna Guellali said that “the last thing the Tunisian authorities should be doing in the middle of a pandemic is arresting or prosecuting people who are critical of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The free flow of information and public trust is particularly important at this time. Those detained for expressing their views must be immediately and unconditionally released.”

“These prosecutions send the wrong signal at this time and are a significant setback for freedom of expression in the country. Questioning the government measures, criticising flaws and shortfalls to the pandemic are not punishable crimes,” she indicated.

Besides, she added that the Tunisian authorities should be working on decreasing the number of detainees held in pre-trial detention merely for expressing their views and to reduce the risk of Covid-19 whenever possible. “The case of these two bloggers should stand as a stark reminder of the urgent need to reform archaic laws on the books that allow for people to face criminal prosecutions for free speech,” said Guellali.