On February 13, 2023, the Tunisian police arrested Noureddine Boutar, general manager of the private Mosaïque FM radio station, very popular in Tunisia. This arrest comes as part of a crackdown launched this weekend by the Tunisian security services and during which political activists, former magistrates and an influential businessman were arrested.
The unprecedented wave of arrests in Tunisia since the fall of the Ben Ali regime is spreading: after having affected politicians, businessmen and other personalities accused of corruption, it has affected two judges, a former soldier and a former diplomat…
These arrests, which are continuing in the Tunisian capital, come as part of a crackdown launched on February 10. Noureddine Boutar, the director of the most listened to radio station in the country, is among those arrested on February 13, 2023. Mosaïque FM broadcasts live programs that deal with the social, political and economic situation in the country in a free and sometimes critical tone. .
??? The arrest of the director of @RadioMosaicFMNoureddine Boutar, without an arrest warrant or official reason, his interrogation, which focused on his editorial choices, is just as unacceptable as it is sadly indicative of the repression that is falling on the press in #Tunisia. pic.twitter.com/yMC1e9YHiC
— RSF (@RSF_inter) February 14, 2023
According to his lawyer, Noureddine Boutar was at home at the time of the arrest. His house was searched. The police officers who arrested him did not produce an arrest warrant or a search warrant. He was taken to the Korjani police center where he is still being held.
Still according to his lawyer, this journalist was questioned about the editorial line of his radio and its funding. No charges were notified to him.
In addition, an activist lawyer and opponent of the president was also arrested yesterday.
The bar association has asked for an explanation of this wave of arrests, which it considers illegal. “A dangerous wave”, according to the opposition, which according to it aims “to liquidate political opponents of the president while using state institutions” such as the police and the Ministry of the Interior.
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