Eight websites and online pages are the subject of criminal proceedings initiated by the Public Prosecutor, said official spokesperson for the Tunis Court of Appeal, Habib Torkhani, adding that this measure was taken in accordance with the joint statement issued last August 23 by the interior, justice and communication technology ministries. In a statement to TAP news agency on Wednesday, Torkhani revealed the list of websites and online pages targeted by these criminal proceedings, saying they are the pages “Sayeb Salah”, “Haykal Dkheel”, “Politiket”, “Kahwaji Dakhiliyya”, “Khahwaji FM” and “Al mared Tounsi for the purge of the Ministry of Interior,” “Kahwaji of Parliament” and “Chlafti Carthage”. The spokesperson added that the public will soon be informed of the list of sites currently being prosecuted, once the investigations into the requisitions and technical expertise have been completed. He also pointed out that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a criminal investigation to identify with precision and accuracy the administrators of these sites, accounts and electronic groups who knowingly use these platforms to create, propagate and spread false rumours with the aim of defaming and damaging the reputation and public security. The spokesperson provided details on the location of these pages, stating that they are managed outside the national territory and that appropriate measures have been taken with the competent authorities to trace and identify their owners. Anyone who contributes to or participates in the publication or dissemination of the content of these pages will suffer the same fate,» he noted. On August 23, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Communication Technologies announced in a joint press release that criminal proceedings had been initiated in order to reveal the identity of the owners and administrators of sites, accounts and electronic groups that intend to use these platforms to spread false news, rumours and inaccurate data. According to the press release, the aim of these electronic pages and sites is to damage reputations, violate the rights of others, undermine public security and social peace, and harm the interests of the Tunisian state.
Source: EN – Agence Tunis Afrique Presse