Latest issue of opposition weekly censored

Reporters Without Borders condemns the government’s use of its monopoly of newspaper and magazine distribution to block the sale of latest issue of the weekly Al-Maoukif, the mouthpiece of the opposition Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), at the main retail points in the capital. “The methods used to block distribution of Al-Maoukif are tantamount to censorship,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Such practices tend to recur in the run-up to elections, such as the presidential and legislative elections scheduled for this October, and belie the government’s claims to have created an open society.” The 12 July issue of Al-Maoukif has a front-page story about a physical attack on PDP leaders by members of the security staff of the ruling Democratic Constitutional Rally (RDC) in Al-Hichriya (in Sidi Bouzid province), 300 km south of the capital. One of the victims of the attack, PDP secretary-general Maya Jeribi, wrote an editorial for the issue headlined “I accuse the interior minister.” When the Reporters Without Borders Tunisia correspondent toured the capital’s newsstands on 13 July, he confirmed that none of them was selling the latest Al-Maoukif issue, which had a print-run of 8,000 copies. Al-Maoukif editor Rachid Khechana said blocking its sale was tantamount to a “clandestine confiscation” that was illegal because it had not been ordered by any court. In a 13 July press release, the government nonetheless claimed: “This issue has been distributed in the normal fashion and is on sale in newsstands like any other newspaper and magazine, including those published by all the opposition parties.” See the most recent Reporters Without Borders release on Al-Maoukif: http://www.rsf.org/Court-dismisses-cooking-oil.html