Tunisia's anti-terrorism unit arrests Al Jazeera reporter

A Tunisian anti-terrorism unit arrested Al Jazeera reporter Samir Sassi late on Wednesday, the Tunisian Journalists’ Union said according to Reuters.

Members of the unit searched Sassi’s home and seized his computer and phone, as well as those of his family members, the union said in a statement yesterday.

It went on to denounce the arrest as “arbitrary” and alluded to the possibility of Sassi being investigated on terrorism charges, since his lawyer is not allowed to talk to him for 48 hours.

Al Jazeera’s Tunis Bureau Chief, Lotfi Hajji, said on Facebook that security forces did not tell Sassi’s family why he was arrested.

A member of Sassi’s defence team, lawyer Moukhtar Al-Jamai, said Sassi  refused to answer any questions without the presence of his lawyer, adding that he will today be referred to the investigating judge at the Ariana Court so that the Public Prosecutor may decide what the next steps will be.

The Tunisian security and judicial authorities have not issued any comment on Sassi’s arrest.

Freedom of the press has been dramatically curtailed in Tunisia since President Kais Saied sacked the government and suspended parliament in July 2021. The next day, security forces closed Al Jazeera’s office and asked all correspondents to leave the country, without giving any reasons.

On Monday, judicial authorities ordered the pre-trial detention of journalist Zied El-Heni on the charge of defamation, after he criticised the trade minister.

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