Noureddine Boutar

Summary

Noureddine Boutar is the Director General of Mosaique FM Radio Station. On February 13, he was arrested and imprisoned on the grounds of using the editorial line of Mosaique FM to insult the highest authority and state symbols, as well as escalate the situation in the country.

Personal Information

Name: Noureddine Boutar

Nationality: Tunisian

Occupation: Director General of Mosaique FM

Charges: Using the editorial line of Mosaique FM to insult the highest authority and state symbols, as well as escalate the situation in the country.

Incidents of Violation

On February 13, 2023, police forces arrested the Director General of Mosaique FM, Noureddine Boutar, after raiding and searching his residence without finding evidence to indict or raise suspicion about him, according to his lawyer, Dalila Ben Mbarek. His arrest came within the context of the arbitrary arrest campaign against several opponents politicians of President Kais Saied, who had been accused of endangering national security, escalating the situation, and conspiring against the state. The interrogation of Noureddine Boutar continued for 6 hours without releasing any statement about the charges against him. The investigation judge at the Economic and Financial Judicial Pole issued an arrest warrant against the violation victim, Noureddine Boutar, accusing him of using the editorial line of Mosaique FM to insult the highest authority and state symbols and escalate the situation in the country. Attorney Ayoub Elghdamsi stated that the judiciary did not provide his client with the minimum of protection and solely relied on weak security reports containing false information. In addition, Noureddine Boutar is facing a case of fabrication and maltreatment because of his journalistic activity related to the radio station and its editorial line, which is a cause of concern to the plaintiff. Noureddine Boutar has been held in custody without evidence necessitating his continued detention.

Human Rights Violations

The arrest of the Director General of Mosaique FM is a blatant violation of freedom of expression, particularly freedom of the press and information. The reason behind his arrest is the editorial line of Mosaique FM and the views expressed through it, which oppose the post-25 July regime. Suing and arresting individuals based on their freedom of opinion and the press is a restriction and flagrant violation of the right to freedom of expression, which is a right protected by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in Article 19, as well as Article 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Moreover, It is a constitutional right guaranteed by the Tunisian constitution under Article 37, which emphasizes that freedom of opinion, idea, expression, information, and publishing is guaranteed. Prior censorship of these freedoms is not permissible.

Sources

This case was documented based on the Attorney of the defense team Noureddine Boutar and a number of newspaper articles, official statements, and several posts related to his case.