On Friday, February 16, 2024, an arrest warrant was issued against Tunisian blogger and civil society activist “Kaouther Kouki” after she was referred for investigation in custody following her arrest on Wednesday, February 14, 2024. This was due to a complaint filed by the public prosecution against her per the provisions of Article 24 of Decree No.54 of 2022 concerning “combating crimes related to information and communication systems” due to her revelation of suspected financial irregularities within the Ministry of Interior. Consequently, “Kaouther Kouki” was referred for an interrogation session the next day, February 21, 2024.
Additionally, in recent years, blogger Kaouther Kouki exposed a corruption case relevant to one of the public institutions under the Central Bank of Tunisia, which resulted in her suspension from work and then her dismissal in June 2023. Furthermore, her case has been marked by back-and-forth developments.
Recently, Kaouther protested via a video on her official page about the ambiguity of the procedures in her case, explaining that she was heard by the first assistant to the first public prosecutor by order of the Minister of Justice on September 20, 2023. Later, the case was referred on December 28, 2023.
Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the blogger and civil society activist Kaouther Kouki, emphasizing its full and unconditional support for all opinion prisoners.
Moreover, Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms renews its condemnation of the content of Decree No.54 of 2022 related to combatting crimes relevant to information and communication systems, applied in a targeted and systematic way to restrict freedom of expression as part of the “Oppression Family” consisting of unfair and repressive articles.
In addition, the association denounces the leniency in applying the imprisonment measures, which represents a limitation of the rights in the case of “Kaouther Kouki” despite the fact she has not been interrogated.
