Concern about suppressing Tunisian magazine publication
Tunisia, Politics, 1/27/2007

A group concerned with freedom of speech, International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group, on Jan 24 said that Tunisian authorities arbitrarily ordered Dar Assabah not to issue its new weekly magazine, L'Expression, and banned the French magazine Historia Thématique.

The group said that according to reports, the first issue of L'Expression, published by Dar Assabah, was scheduled to appear on 5 January. However, despite first being told by the government that the magazine would be permitted, shortly before publication of the first issue the authorities ordered Dar Assabah not to publish the magazine.

In early January, the government also banned the January-February issue of the French magazine Historia Thématique, which examined issues of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This is the first time since its establishment in 1909 that Historia Thématique has been banned.

The order not to publish L'Expression and the banning of Historia Thématique are the latest acts in a campaign of state harassment of the media, a campaign that includes censoring publications and jailing journalists.

We respectfully remind you that forbidding the publication of L'Expression and banning Historia Thématique are clear breaches of the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the Declaration states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers."

Previous Stories:
  US government report on Tunisia's human rights   (3/25/2006)
  Tunisian police bans freedom demonstration   (2/25/2006)
  Disappointment in Tunisia as host for World information society summit   (11/18/2005)

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