Tunisia’s Ennahda threatens sue those who spread fake news

Tunisia’s Ennahda movement pledged to prosecute media outlets that publish and promote what it described as fake news aimed at defaming its leaders.

A statement published by the movement on Facebook yesterday called on the judiciary to look into allegations that Ennahda’s leaders are being defamed as a result of reports that they acquired their funds through questionable means.

“We call on the judiciary to quickly adjudicate these cases in order to guarantee the rights of the party and its leaders and to protect its supporters from the violent discourses that incite against it, which led earlier to violent attacks against them and the burning of the party headquarters.”

It added that it had submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecution about the news outlets who had published the news. “The complaints are relating to press articles published by Al-Anwar in which it spread false news against Ennahda Movement and its leaders, and propagated hate speech and incitement against Tunisians, and through which it caused serious crimes.”

Ennahda warned against “the republication of this false news”, stressing that it “will continue to prosecute anyone who does so.”

Since the coup carried out by President Kais Saied in July, opposition figures have come under increased attack in the media and many have been placed under house arrest by authorities. The moves have been seen as a means through which Saied is seeking to silence the opposition.

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