Tunisia-HAICA warns against judicial interference in media content

The Independent High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HAICA) warned against the intervention of the judiciary judicial in the control of media content”, the HAICA stressed regarding the perils this professes to freedom of the press and the independence of the media.

Following the invocation of the director of private radio Ulysse FM to be heard by the unit specializing in crimes of violence against women and children in Djerba (Medenine) on media content, HAICA communicated a letter to the public prosecutor at the Court of First Instance of Medenine evoking “the imperative to uphold the right to freedom of expression and of the press” as well as “the framework regulating the freedom of audiovisual communication”.

In a press release, the HAICA called on all state institutions to “respect the law and procedures in force” and “the area of ​​competence of the regulatory authority”, and invited the audiovisual media to strengthen self-regulatory mechanisms and comply professional ethics and rules of professional conduct.

The press release further recalls that the audiovisual media are subjected to the regulatory mechanism given for by Decree-Law No. 2011-116 of November 2, 2011, correlating to the freedom of audiovisual communication and establishing the HAICA ”and which exclusively bestows it the mission of monitoring the compliance of television channels and radios with the laws and regulations in force and to take the proper measures in the event of an infringement ”.