Tunisia
Journalist manhandled by policePosted Oct 20 2007
Al-Jazeera correspondent Lotfi Hajji has been manhandled by plain-clothes police in Tunisia four times in the past week, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The incidents occurred after Hajji visited the headquarters of the opposition Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) to report on a hunger strike by its secretary-general, Maya Jribi, and by NŽjib Chebbi, the editor of the party's newspaper, Al Maoukif. Their hunger strike began Sept. 20, protesting the authorities' decision to close the premises that house the party's headquarters.
“Hajji has never been allowed to work freely,” the press freedom organization said. “After refusing to issue him with a press card and banning him from opening an Al-Jazeera bureau in Tunisia, the authorities are now making frequent use of force to censor this independent journalist.”