Tunisia’s state television has barred all political parties from appearing on talk shows and from even entering the building. The ban began in July when Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, fired the government and suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority in a move his critics have called a coup, Tunisian National Syndicate of Journalists head Mehdi Jlassi told Reuters. They are the first restrictions since the 2011 revolution that ended the autocratic rule of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Jlassi says the move is a “political decision” that “threatens press freedoms.” But the state broadcaster told Reuters that it still covers all political parties’ activities, without exception.
On Monday, Saied criticized Tunisia’s local media, saying they “lie, lie like news bulletins”.