A Tunisian court on Thursday detained a journalist who criticized police and the interior minister, the main journalism union said, denouncing a setback in freedom of expression since President Kais Saied seized executive power last summer.
Chahrazed Akacha was the second journalist to be imprisoned within a month, after another was jailed for a week in March for publishing a story on militants.
The union said Akacha's arrest was due to a Facebook post in which she criticized the interior minister and accused police of insulting and beating her in the street last week.
In her post, Akacha called on interior minister to control his policemen, describing them as "dogs," after she said they beat her, insulted her and took off her veil.
The police and interior ministry were not immediately available for comment.
Improved speech and press freedoms were a key gain for Tunisians after the 2011 revolution that ended the rule of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered the Arab spring protests.
However, the democratic system adopted after the uprising is in deep crisis after President Saied seized executive power and brushed aside the constitution to rule by decree, a move opponents called a coup.
Last month, Saied dissolved the parliament, sparking widespread anger at home and abroad.
Saied, who became prominent as a law professor when he started appearing on media shows to talk about the constitution after 2011, says he respects all freedoms and rights and will not become a dictator.
Critics say his actions, which also include replacing a body that guaranteed judicial independence, show he is determined to cement one-man rule.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
The smell of sage and sweetgrass floated in the air Monday over a mostly sombre ceremony to reflect on the legacy of residential schools and remember those who survived — and the thousands who didn't.
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Donald Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods Monday about the federal response to Hurricane Helene despite claiming not to be politicizing the disaster as he toured hard-hit areas in south Georgia.
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Have you been caught in a bind, far from home, that could have been avoided with the timely purchase of an insurance package? We want to hear from you.
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The City of London is informing drivers about temporary road restrictions on Wellington Street as part of the Downtown Loop Phase 3 finishing work and surface paving.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $11,000 US from an inbound American citizen at the Ambassador Bridge.
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Overnight on Thursday as the community of Elliot Lake was resting to prepare for the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville celebrations, when vandals struck a building that has been top of mind for the northern Ontario city for more than a year.
Ontario Provincial Police remind the public that ‘a case is never closed until it is solved,’ while highlighting the force's continued investigation of the 1996 disappearance of Melanie Ethier.
Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
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