On 4 July the National Authority for Information and Communication Reform (INRIC), a body enlisted with helping reform the media landscape in Tunisia, announced the end of its mission.
In April 2012 INRIC had submitted its report with a set of recommendations that would seek to pave the way for the transformation of the media landscape in the north African country into a democratic, independent, and pluralistic one.
PRESS RELEASE
The International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 21 IFEX members [including Index on Censorship], is alarmed by the recent attacks in Tunisia on freedom of expression, in particular against artistic expression, in the name of religion.
On 10 June 2012, three ultra-conservative Islamists (reportedly two men and a woman), who were accompanied by a bailiff and a lawyer, toured the Palais El-Abdellia, an art gallery in Tunis, taking part in the Printemps des Arts modern contemporary art fair. The group demanded that the organisers take down two artworks which they claimed were offensive to Islam.
When their request was denied, the Islamists returned later that night with a large number of supporters and broke into the exhibition from the rear walls, burned the painting of Faten Gaddass, and tore to pieces two linen artworks, one by Mohamed Ben Slama, and the second by a French artist.
On 12 June, the Tunisian Ministry of Culture decided to temporarily close the gallery, after violent reactions in several Tunisian cities, including the capital Tunis. Ennahda ruling party claimed that some of the artworks were provocative and that they violated the “principles of Islam and the holy beliefs of Tunisian people.”
Furthermore, the Tunisian Minister of Culture, Mehdi Mabrouk, declared that some of the artworks exhibited at Printemps des Arts do in fact violate Islamic holy symbols, which the artists deny. He has also said that some of these artworks are now under investigation. After acknowledging the provocative role of art, on the morning of 14 June, Mabrouk told Radio Shems FM that six works deemed to be “provocative” had been confiscated.
At a press conference held on 12 June, the Minister announced that the government would likely present a bill to the National Constituent Assembly which would allow criminal charges to be brought against anyone who offends “the sacred.” Blasphemy laws are a clear violation of freedom of expression and would present a serious setback to human rights in Tunisia, say IFEX-TMG members.
Previously, on 27 May, Salafist groups attacked the playwright Rajab Al-Maqary in El Kef city. He subsequently suffered serious injuries after being beaten severely on his head and chest. He is still receiving treatment in a Tunis hospital.
IFEX-TMG strongly condemns the increasing use of violence against artists and writers by ultra-conservative groups. IFEX-TMG is particularly concerned about the closure of the exhibition in the Printemps des Arts gallery by the Ministry of Culture, rather than the guaranteeing of a safe environment in which artists can work freely, without threats or censorship.
IFEX-TMG members are additionally concerned about the ongoing detention of Tunisian blogger Jabeur Ben Abdallah Mejri, who was sentenced to seven and a half years’ imprisonment for publishing writings alleged to be offensive to Islam. Mejri’s appeal was held on 24 May and was adjourned. According to his lawyer, the new date has not been set yet. IFEX- TMG calls for his immediate release.
“It is disturbing that those entrusted to promote and defend freedom of expression in Tunisia would side with the dictates of radical groups that resort to violence and destruction to impose their views. The IFEX-TMG calls on the government to take robust steps to protect the right to free expression, so that citizens can enjoy this fundamental right without fear of retribution,” says Virginie Jouan, Chair of the IFEX-TMG.
For more information:
IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group
Virginie Jouan, Chair
on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
jouanvirginie (@) gmail.com
Facebook.com/IFEXTMG
Twitter: @IFEXTMG
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
ARTICLE 19
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Cartoonists Rights Network International
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
Freedom House
Index on Censorship
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
International Press Institute
International Publishers Association
Journaliste en danger (JED)
Maharat Foundation (Skills Foundation)
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Norwegian PEN
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
World Press Freedom Committee
Writers in Prison Committee, PEN International
Members of the IFEX-TMG gathered in Tunis for World Press Freedom Day to mark the launch of four new initiatives to support Tunisian rights to freedom of expression, which remains under threat despite the gains of the past year.
The new work includes a literary anthology edited by the president of PEN Tunisia Naziha Rejiba, a training manual on online advocacy, a workshop for cartoonists, and a national newspaper and billboard campaign championing free expression rights as Tunisia’ Constituent Assembly continues to negotiate a new national constitution.
With hundreds of press freedom campaigners in Tunis alongside the IFEX-TMG to attend UNESCO’s annual World Press Freedom Day conference, the timeliness of these events was underlined by the sentencing of two young Facebook users to lengthy prison sentences and the fining of the head of a TV station for broadcasting the award-winning film Persepolis.
“Things have improved since the fall of the old regime, but there’s no question that the right to freedom of expression in Tunisia is not yet secure or safe,” said Rohan Jayasekera from IFEX-TMG member Index on Censorship.
The anthology, Fleeting Words, edited by Rejiba, the veteran dissident best known as ‘Om Ziad’, is published in partnership between IFEX-TMG, PEN Tunisia and Atlas Publications. Now available in Arabic, French and English editions will be published in June.
The IFEX-TMG also launched a training manual on online free expression campaign strategy developed by the IFEX-TMG member, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), with local partner, the Tunisian Centre for Freedom of the Press (CTPJ). This follows a series of training workshops, with the two most recent held in Sidi Bouzid and Tunis.
This week also sees the launch of a major multi-media campaign in support of free expression rights developed in partnership with the Tunisian online media group Nawaat.org. Using 75 street billboards and adverts in national print and broadcast media, it will be seen by hundreds of thousands of Tunisians across the country.
Also this month, ANHRI and fellow IFEX-TMG member the Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) organised a two-day workshop in the coastal Tunisian city of Sousse.
Sixteen digital and ink cartoonists from across Tunisia and the region, as CRNI Executive Director Dr Robert Russell put it, “all on the cutting edge of free speech,” gathered to exchange techniques and experiences.
The initiatives are part of the IFEX-TMG project Monitoring & Advocacy in Support of Independent Human Rights Defenders in Tunisia (2010-2012), managed by Index on Censorship and supported by the European Commission and Oxfam Novib.
The need for continuing work in the sector was underlined by the prosecution of Nabil Karoui, director of privately-owned Nessma TV for blasphemy and disturbing public order. The charges followed the station’s screening of the animated film Persepolis in October 2011. Karoui was fined 2,400 Tunisian dinars (961 GBP) on the charge of disturbing the public order, after protesters stormed Nessma TV.
“That Nabil Karoui avoided jail is not cause for celebration, the case should not have been brought to a court of law to begin with,” said Virginie Jouan, IFEX-TMG Chair.
The IFEX-TMG also expressed concern about the sentencing of Ghazi Ben Mohamed Beji and Jabeur Ben Abdallah Majri to over seven years in prison after Beji posted an online manuscript said to be critical of the Prophet, and Mejri reposted some of it.
10 April 2012
(IFEX-TMG) – The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 21 IFEX members which includes Index, is alarmed by ongoing attacks targeting journalists, artists, performers and women for the “crime” of freely expressing their opinion as well as by the Tunisian security forces’ alleged inaction during most of these instances in the past year. Furthermore, the IFEX-TMG condemns the use of force by police or other parties against journalists covering demonstrations, as well as long sentences for Facebook users on religious morality charges.
In an extremely alarming development, on 28 March, Ghazi Beji and Jabeur Mejri were sentenced to over seven years in prison for posting online manuscripts critical of Islam which included caricatures of a naked Prophet Mohammed. This comes just a fortnight after authorities announced 13 March would be marked as the national day for internet freedom.
A recent string of attacks have been carried out by individuals, some of whom have been alledgedly identified as Salafists, a conservative group of Sunni Muslims who approach Islamic theology from a literal point of view.
Amongst those targeted were artists, academics, journalists as well as media personnel and institutions. The most recent attack based on religious motivations, occurred on 22 March, when a theatre group performing on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis was attacked by Salafists. The police are said to have intervened much later and rather than protect the thespians and their equipment from the attack, moved them into the nearby Municipal Theatre.
Rather than protecting freedom of expression, the authorities have since banned demonstrations on Habib Bourguiba, the city’s main street, which was a symbolic place of resistance for the revolution. On 28 March, the Ministry of the interior banned “all demonstrations, marches and any other form of collective expression” on the Avenue.
Furthermore, police violently attacked peaceful demonstrations held in different cities on 7, 8 and 9 April to protest unemployment and social injustice. Police beat demonstrators with batons and fired teargas at them during a protest on 9 April on Avenue Habib Bourguiba by around a thousand people, defying the ban on protests on the capital’s main thoroughfare. Journalists were reportedly beaten during a demonstration in Sfax on 8 April, and then 14 journalists were beaten in Tunis on 9 April.
This follows a pattern of police abuse. In January 2012, two women journalists Sana Farhat and Maha Ouelhezi were physically assaulted by plainclothes police in Tunis as they were covering a demonstration organised by university teachers calling for academic freedom outside the Ministry of Education. Journalists were also attacked violently by police while covering a union protest in Tunis on 28 February.
Meanwhile, Director of the privately-owned Nessma TV, Nabil Karoui, is facing charges of blasphemy and disturbing public order for the screening of the animated film Persepolis in October 2011. The trial has been postponed a number of times and is now set for 19 April 2012.
The airing of Persepolis in October led to protests in Tunis because it contained a scene depicting God, which is considered forbidden by Islam. A week later, a crowd damaged Karoui’s home in Tunis with Molotov cocktails.
There has been little protection for those being attacked, including during a sit-in at Manouba University protesting the banning of niqab-wearing students from sitting for their exams that became violent. Not only did security forces fail to intervene to prevent demonstrators from becoming violent and disrupting classes, but there were no arrests made. Professor Fatma Jegham was attacked with impunity by Salafists last year at the Fine Arts University in Tunis for teaching a subject deemed “offensive to God.”
Not all recent violations of the right to free expression have been motivated by religious doctrine. On 24 March, celebrated journalist and Al-Jazeera journalist Lotffi Hajji was attacked physically and verbally as he was reporting from a meeting organised by supporters of the former Interim Prime Minister Caid Essebsi.
While all citizens reserve the right to protest against speech or an act they deem offensive, the IFEX-TMG and its local Tunisian partners have been campaigning to raise awareness that obstructing or interfering with their fellow-citizens’ rights to express their views is a violation of free expression, an intrinsic right and a basic building stone for any democracy, and one that must be enshrined in the Constitution.
While Said Ferjani, a leader in the ruling Ennahda political party, said they aim to protect the choice of wearing “the bikini or the Burqa”, more is needed to protect all citizens from the intolerant acts of individuals and groups.
“We call on the government to put its rhetoric into action by taking practical steps such as training their security forces on positively interacting with protesters, sensitising them on how to work with the media and on actively stepping in to protect the right to free expression so that citizens can enjoy this fundamental right without the fear of retribution,” said Virginie Jouan, Chair of the IFEX-TMG.
ARTICLE 19
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Cartoonists Rights Network International
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
Freedom House
Index on Censorship
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
International Press Institute
International Publishers Association
Journaliste en danger
Maharat Foundation (Skills Foundation)
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Norwegian PEN
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
World Press Freedom Committee
Writers in Prison Committee, PEN International
10 avril 2012
Le TMG de l’IFEX s’inquiète des attaques répétées qui ciblent les manifestants, les médias, les acteurs et les universitaires
SOURCE: Le groupe d’observation de la Tunisie de l’IFEX
(TMG de l’IFEX) – Le Groupe d’observation de la Tunisie organisé par l’Échange international de la liberté d’expression (TMG de l’IFEX), coalition de 21 membres de l’IFEX, s’inquiète vivement des attaques répétées contre les journalistes, les artistes et les femmes qui commettent le « crime » d’exprimer librement leur opinion, ainsi que de l’inaction présumée des forces de sécurité tunisiennes pendant la plupart de ces incidents survenus au cours de la dernière année. De plus, le TMG de l’IFEX condamne le recours à la force par des policiers ou d’autres groupes contre les journalistes qui couvrent les manifestations, ainsi que les lourdes peines infligées à des utilisateurs de Facebook pour des infractions à la morale religieuse.
Un événement extrêmement inquiétant est survenu le 28 mars. Ghazi Beji et Jabeur Mejri ont été condamnés à plus de sept ans de prison pour avoir affiché en ligne des écrits critiques de l’islam, qui incluaient des caricatures du Prophète Mahomet dénudé. Cela est survenu une quinzaine de jours à peine après que les autorités eurent annoncé que le 13 mars serait célébré comme la journée nationale de la liberté de l’internet.
Une série d’attaques auraient été perpétrées récemment par des individus dont certains ont été identifiés comme des salafistes, des musulmans sunnites conservateurs qui adoptent une interprétation littérale de l’Islam.
Parmi les personnes visées se trouvaient des artistes, des universitaires, des journalistes ainsi que des employés de médias et des institutions. L’attaque la plus récente ayant un mobile religieux est survenue le 22 mars, lorsqu’une troupe de théâtre en représentation avenue Habib-Bourguiba à Tunis a été agressée par des salafistes. La police serait intervenue beaucoup plus tard et, au lieu de protéger les acteurs et leur équipement contre l’attaque, les aurait déplacés au Théâtre Municipal voisin.
Au lieu de protéger la liberté d’expression, les autorités ont depuis interdit les manifestations sur l’avenue Habib-Bourguiba, principale artère de la ville, lieu symbolique de la résistance pendant la révolution. Le 28 mars, le Ministère de l’Intérieur a interdit « toute manifestation, marche et toute autre forme d’expression collective » sur cette avenue.
De plus, la police s’est violemment attaquée à des manifestations pacifiques qui se sont tenues dans différentes villes les 7, 8 et 9 avril pour protester contre le chômage et l’injustice sociale. Le 9 avril, la police a attaqué à coups de bâton et de gaz lacrymogènes environ un millier de manifestants qui protestaient avenue Habib-Bourguiba, défiant l’interdiction de manifester dans la principale artère de la capitale. Des journalistes auraient été tabassés lors d’une manifestation le 8 avril à Sfax, puis 14 journalistes auraient été tabassés à Tunis le 9 Avril.
Ce comportement s’inscrit dans un schéma d’abus de pouvoir par la police. En janvier 2012, deux femmes journalistes, Sana Farhat et Maha Ouelhezi, ont été agressées physiquement à Tunis par des policiers en civil tandis qu’elles couvraient, à l’extérieur de l’immeuble du Ministère de l’Éducation, une manifestation organisée par des professeurs d’université qui demandaient la liberté de l’enseignement. Des journalistes ont aussi été attaqués violemment par la police le 28 février tandis qu’ils couvraient une manifestation syndicale de protestation à Tunis.
Par ailleurs, Nabil Karoui, directeur de la chaîne privée Nessma TV, doit répondre à des accusations de blasphème et d’avoir troublé l’ordre public pour avoir diffusé en octobre 2011 le film d’animation Persépolis. Le procès a été reporté un certain nombre de fois et il est maintenant prévu pour le 19 avril 2012.
La présentation de « Persépolis » en octobre a provoqué des protestations à Tunis parce que le film comporte une scène où l’on voit Dieu, ce que proscrit l’Islam. Une semaine plus tard, une foule a attaqué le domicile de Karoui à Tunis et l’a endommagé à force de cocktails Molotov.
Il y a peu de protection pour ceux qui se font attaquer, y compris lors d’un sit-in en novembre et décembre à l’Université Manouba (pour protester contre l’interdiction faite aux étudiantes portant le niqab de passer leurs examens), un sit-in qui a dégénéré dans la violence. Non seulement les forces de sécurité ont-elles omis d’intervenir pour empêcher des manifestants de recourir à la violence et perturber les classes, mais elles n’ont arrêté aucun des auteurs de cette violence dans les universités. La professeure Fatma Jegham a été attaquée en toute impunité l’an dernier par des salafistes à l’Université des Beaux-Arts de Tunis parce qu’elle enseignait une matière jugée « offensante pour Dieu ».
La religion n’est pas le prétexte de toutes les violations récentes du droit à la libre expression. Le 24 mars, Lotffi Hajji, journaliste renommé et correspondant d’Al-Jazeera, a été agressé physiquement et verbalement pendant qu’il assurait la couverture d’un meeting organisé par des partisans de l’ancien premier ministre par intérim Caid Essebsi.
Alors que tous les citoyens ont le droit de protester contre des propos ou des actes qu’ils estiment offensants, le TMG de l’IFEX et ses partenaires locaux en Tunisie font campagne afin de sensibiliser la population au fait que l’obstruction ou l’entrave au droit des citoyens d’exprimer leur opinion constitue une violation de la libre expression, droit intrinsèque et pierre angulaire de toute démocratie, qui doit être inscrit dans la Constitution.
Alors que Said Ferjani, l’un des dirigeants de Ennahda, le parti politique au pouvoir, a affirmé que son parti entend protéger le choix de porter « le bikini ou la burqa », il faut faire davantage pour protéger l’ensemble des citoyens contre les gestes d’intolérance de certains individus et de certains groupes.
« Nous demandons au gouvernement de traduire ses paroles en actes par l’adoption de mesures pratiques comme la formation des forces de l’ordre à communiquer avec les manifestants, à travailler avec les médias et à intervenir activement pour protéger le droit à la libre expression afin que les citoyens puissent jouir de ce droit fondamental sans crainte de représailles », a déclaré Virginie Jouan, Présidente du TMG de l’IFEX.
تونس
مصدر: آيفكس مجموعة مراقبة حالة حرية التعبير في تونس
10 أبريل 2012
مجموعة مراقبة حالة حرية التعبير في تونس تبدي قلقها حول الهجمات المستمرة التي تستهدف المتظاهرين والإعلاميين والفنانين والأكاديميين
(آيفكس – مجموعة مراقبة حالة حرية التعبير في تونس) – أعلنت مجموعة مراقبة حالة حرية التعبير في تونس، و هي ائتلاف من 21 عضوا من أعضاء آيفكس، عن قلقها حول الهجمات المستمرة على الصحافيين والفنانين والنساء بتهمة “حرية التعبير” عن رأيهم وإزاء تقاعس قوات الأمن التونسية خلال العام الماضي. وتدين مجموعة مراقبة حالة حرية التعبير في تونس استخدام القوة من قبل الشرطة أو الأطراف الأخرى ضد الصحفيين الذين يغطون المظاهرات أو الأحداث بالإضافة الى الحكم القاسي على مستخدمي الفايسبوك بتهمة الإساءة للأخلاق الدينية.
ففي تطور خطير، حكم على غازي الباجي وجابر ماجري، في 28 آذار\ مارس، بالسجن لأكثر من سبع سنوات بسبب نشر كتابات على الانترنت تنتقد الإسلام والتي تضمنت رسوما كاريكاتورية عارية ومسيئة للنبي محمد. ويأتي هذا فقط بعد أسبوعين من إعلان السلطات 13 آذار\ مارس يوما وطنيا لحرية الانترنت.
ويزعم أن بعض “السلفيين” أو مجموعة من المحافظين المسلمين السنة، الذين ينتهجون الفقه الإسلامي “بحرَفيته” قد استهدفوا فنانين وأكاديميين وصحفيين فضلا عن موظفي وسائل الاعلام. ويعتبر الهجوم الأخير والذي وقع في 22 مارس، مبنياً على أسس ودوافع دينية. حيث هاجم “السلفيون” مجموعة من المسرحيين خلال أداءهم في جادة الحبيب بورقيبة في تونس. وقيل أن الشرطة تدخلت في وقت لاحق. وبدلا من حماية المسرحيين ومعداتهم، نقلتهم الشرطة الى المسرح البلدي.
فعوضا عن حماية حق حرية التعبير، منعت السلطات منذ ذلك الحين المظاهرات في جادة الحبيب بورقيبة، الشارع الرئيسي للمدينة، والذي شهد ﺘﻈﺎﻫﺮﺍﺕ ﻀﺨﻤﺔ ورمزية اثناء الثورة. وفي 28 آذار\ مارس، منعت وزارة الداخلية “جميع المظاهرات والمسيرات وأي شكل آخر من أشكال التعبير الجماعي” على الجادة.
وعلاوة على ذلك، هاجمت الشرطة بعنف مظاهرات سلمية في مدن مختلفة في 7 و 8 و 9 نيسان/أبريل إلى احتجاج البطالة والظلم الاجتماعي. وقامت الشرطة بضرب المتظاهرين بالهراوات والغاز المسيل للدموع وأطلقت النار عليهم خلال مظاهرة احتجاج في 9 نيسان/أبريل على شارع الحبيب بورقيبة وقدرت المظاهرة بحوالي ألف شخص، في تحد للحظر المفروض على الاحتجاجات على الشارع الرئيسي في العاصمة. ويقال أنه تم ضرب صحفيين خلال مظاهرة في صفاقس يوم 8 نيسان/أبريل وتلى ذلك ضرب 14 صحفي وصحفية يوم 9 نيسان\ أبريل في العاصمة تونس.
وهذا يتبع نمط من سوء معاملة الشرطة، ففي كانون الثاني \ يناير عام 2012، تم الاعتداء على الصحفيتين، سناء فرحات ومها أولهزي، من قبل الشرطة في لباس مدني في تونس، بينما كانتا تغطيان مظاهرة نظمها أساتذة الجامعات تطالب بالحرية الأكاديمية خارج وزارة التربية والتعليم. وهاجمت الشرطة صحافيين بعنف من قبل بينما كانوا يقومون بتغطية احتجاج نقابة الصحافيين في تونس في 28 فبراير من العام ذاته.
في هذه الأثناء، يواجه نبيل القروي، مدير تلفزيون نسمة الخاصة، اتهامات بالتجديف والإخلال بالنظام العام لعرض القناة فيلم “برسيبوليس” في تشرين الأول\ اكتوبر 2011. وقد تم تأجيل المحاكمة عدة مرات، ومن المتوقع أن تعقد في 19 نيسان\ أبريل 2012.
وأدى بث “برسيبوليس” في اكتوبر الماضي الى احتجاجات في تونس لأنه يحتوي على مشهد يصور الله، الأمر الذي يحرمه الإسلام. وبعد أسبوع من العرض، قامت مجموعة بإلقاء “قنابل المولوتوف” على منزل قروي في تونس.
لا يوجد ما يكفي من الحماية للذين يتعرضون للهجوم، فعلى سبيل المثال حصل خلال الاعتصام الذي شهدته “جامعة منوبة” إحتجاجاً على حظر الطالبات المنقبات من الانتظام في دراستهن. ولم تكتف قوات الأمن بالفشل في التدخل لمنع العنف الذي تلى ذلك وتعطل المحاضرات؛ بل وأيضاً لم تسجل أية اعتقالات. وهاجم السلفيون العام الماضي، البروفيسورة فاطمة جغام، في جامعة الفنون الجميلة في تونس لاعتبارها أنها تدرس مادة تعتبر “مسيئة إلى الله”، إلا أنهم تمكنوا من الإفلات من العقاب.
و لكن الإنتهاكات الأخيرة ليست كلها متعلقة بأسس دينية. ففي 24 مارس، تعرض الصحافي المشهور ومراسل الجزيرة، لطفي حجي، الى هجوم عنيف اثناء تغطيته للقاء نظمه أنصار رئيس الوزراء المؤقت السابق الباجي قائد السبسي.
وفي حين أن جميع المواطنين لديهم الحق في الاحتجاج على خطاب أو فعل يرونه مستفزاً أو هجومي، تقوم مجموعة مراقبة حالة حرية التعبير في تونس وشركائها في تونس بتنظيم حملات لزيادة الوعي حول أهمية عدم تدخل المواطنين في حقوق الاخرين في التعبيرعن وجهات نظرهم والذي يعتبر انتهاك لحرية التعبير. و حق حرية التعبير حق جوهري وحجر البناء الأساسي لأي نظام ديمقراطي، و يجب أن يكون منصوصاً عليه في الدستور.
وقال سعيد فرجاني، القيادي في حزب النهضة السياسي الحاكم، أنهم يهدفون إلى حماية خيار ارتداء “البرقع والبكيني “، إلا أنه ، هناك حاجة إلى المزيد من الجهود لحماية جميع المواطنين من تعصب أفراد أوجماعات.
و قالت فيرجيني جوان، رئيسة مجموعة مراقبة حالة حرية التعبير في تونس، ” إننا ندعو الحكومة إلى تنفيذ وعودها من خلال اتخاذ خطوات عملية، مثل تدريب قوات الأمن التابعة لها على التفاعل الإيجابي مع المتظاهرين، وتوعيتهم حول كيفية العمل مع وسائل الإعلام، وعلى المبادرة في حماية حق حرية التعبير حتى يمكن المواطنين بالتمتع بهذا الحق الأساسي من دون الخوف من العقاب.”