If the press is not free, if speech is not independent and untrammeled, it makes no difference under what form of government you live, you are a subject and not a citizen. – U.S. Senator William E. Borah
Middle East & North Africa
Tunisia
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| IREX Score: 0.68 | [IREX Methodology] |
| {Higher is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 4.00} |
IREX Description:
On October 25 President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was re-elected to his fifth term in office by 90 percent of the population in an election decried by media and human-rights organizations. Authorities cracked down on the press, radio and television stations, and Internet publishing in the lead-up to the elections, prompting condemnation from several rights groups.
The mainstream press toes the party line, and authorities regularly block access to alternate news sources. Despite having advanced technological infrastructure, authorities have limited the Internet's emancipatory potential by blocking websites and using an array of legal maneuvers to intimidate and punish online publishers. However, individual news organizations and journalists persist with admirable efforts to circumvent restrictions and take their work online. This year's MSI scores reveal that Tunisian media continue to work in an "unsustainable, anti-free-press environment," and that it is worse than last year.
| Freedom House Score: 85 (Not Free) | [Freedom House Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 100} |
| Freedom on the Net Score: 81 (Not Free) | [Freedom House Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 100} |
In response to widespread protests against President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his government, the leader pledged in a speech to the nation on January 13, 2011 to, among other things, free access to the internet. Within a few hours, reports emerged that previously inaccessible websites such as the video-sharing services YouTube and Daily Motion, as well as the independent collective blog Nawaat.org, had been unblocked.
However, protests continued, and on January 14, 2011, Ben Ali fled the country. The new transitional government has generally eased restrictions on internet access.
Nevertheless, the mechanism that enabled the government to block websites remains in existence. The Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) has insisted it will only be used to block websites that “are against decency, contain violent elements, or incite hate”. The ATI has also pledged to include judicial oversight in filtering decisions, though it is too early to judge whether this has been implemented.
Read more on Freedom House's site...
| RSF Score: 72.50 | [RSF Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to ~120} |
Reporters Without Borders Description:
Since Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali came to power in 1987, there has been no significant improvement in the state of press freedom in the country. Freedoms have generally been cut back since his re-election in October 2009.
The opening up of the broadcast sector and the written press to private companies awakened some hopes in connection with freedom of information, but progress in this area has not been realised.
Virtually the entire media landscape is under the direct control of the government or owned by those close to the president. The three opposition newspapers, linked to political parties, struggle to overcome numerous obstacles thrown in their way by the authorities to undermine them.
| Committee to Protect Journalists Description: | [What is the Committee to Protect Journalists?] |
Top Developments
• Targeting journalists, government criminalizes contact with foreign organizations.
• Private broadcast licenses are controlled by Ben Ali's family and friends.
Key Statistic
5: Years of imprisonment for violations of new law barring contact with foreign groups.
Tunisia remained one of the region's most repressive nations even as it sought to project an image of liberalism and modernity. The government of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali jailed at least three journalists during the year, one of whom remained in custody when CPJ conducted its annual census of imprisoned journalists on December 1. Vague new legislation targeted critical journalists and human rights defenders by criminalizing international communications that the government deemed harmful to its interests.
| IFEX News: | [What is IFEX?] |
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