TUNIS — Tunisia’s President
Kais Saied
issued a decree Friday that punishes the dissemination of “fake news” with up
to five years in prison, rising to 10 when such crimes are deemed to target top
officials.
اضافة اعلان
The decree, published in the Official Journal,
defines the offence as “deliberating using communication networks and
information systems to produce, promote, publish, or send false information or
rumors”.
It comes 14 months after Saied orchestrated a power
grab and purportedly seeks to hold to account those who “bring harm to the
rights of others, public order and national defense” along with those who “sow
panic within the population”.
The offence is also punishable by a fine of 50,000
dinars ($15,600).
The decree was condemned on social media after its
publication as an attempt to muzzle journalists.
Saied in July last year sacked the government and
suspended parliament, before later dissolving the legislature entirely.
Many Tunisians initially welcomed his moves against
a democratic system that was set up in the wake of the
Arab Spring but was
widely seen as fractious and dysfunctional.
But criticism has mounted, with local and
international groups accusing the president of curtailing civil liberties.
Tunisia’s journalists union warned in May that press
freedom in the country faced “serious threats”.
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