Escalating Attacks on Free Expression
Lebanese authorities’ arrest and investigation of prominent comedian Nour Hajjar, solely in retaliation for his jokes, represents a new escalation in Lebanon’s crackdown on public criticism, the Coalition to Defend Freedom of Expression in Lebanon said today.
The Tunisian authorities must drop all charges against anyone being prosecuted under Decree 54 for the legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression, and provide reparation for the harm suffered to the victims of such arbitrary prosecutions, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said today.
In a new briefing paper published today, the ICJ examines the Tunisian authorities’ enforcement of Decree 54 through which they have imposed illegal and arbitrary restrictions on the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression, among other human rights.
Since President Kais Saied’s institutional power grab of July 25, 2021, followed by his decree of September 22 of the same year, which implicitly repealed the constitutional order, and the adoption of a tailor-made Constitution a year later, the judicial system has been subjected to constant attacks aimed at crushing its independence and sweeping away the right to a fair trial.
The Egyptian authorities must open an independent and impartial investigation into allegations of serious human rights violations perpetrated against detainees at the Badr prison complex and ensure that those responsible be held accountable, said the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today.
The ICJ condemns the latest round of arrests, the ban on opposition political party meetings and the shutdown of their offices, and calls on the Tunisian authorities to end their rampant crackdown on peaceful dissent.
يمكنكم قراءة وتحميل البيان باللغة العربية عبر هذ الرابط
On 17 April 2023, the Tunisian authorities arrested Rached Ghannouchi, leader of the opposition political party El-Nahdha and speaker of the dissolved Parliament.
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