In Tunisia, press freedom erodes amid security fears - Committee to Prot... 8 of 21 https://cpj.org/reports/2015/10/in-tunisia-press-freedom-erodes-amid-sec... freedom and in having an independent judiciary distant from political consideration,” said Kais Saied, assistant professor of public law and political science at the University of Carthage in Tunis. Another legislative measure that could spell trouble for journalists is the draft cybercrime law, which was announced in 2014. In August, Minister of Communication and Digital Technologies Noomane Fehri said the bill would be ready for parliament at the end of 2015. In early May, the National Union of Tunisian Journalists warned against the lack of protection for privacy and the expanded executive powers that the bill provides. Criminal penalties for defamation already exist in the penal code, but CPJ research shows that the cybercrime bill would speci�cally extend those provisions to the Internet. In fact, the anti-terrorism legislation already contains provisions related to information and communication technologies that threaten rights to privacy and access to information through expanded grounds for surveillance, vaguely de�ned crimes, and immunity for investigators, according to communication technology experts. Bechir Ouarda, media expert and former coordinator of the Civil Coalition for the Defense of Freedom of Expression, told CPJ, “The greatest challenge for media today is the existence of a conservative parliament with a weak presence of opposition and human rights advocates.” Tunisian security forces have resorted to physical violence or threats of violence in order to obstruct or try to 1/27/2025, 12:23 PM