Tunisia - President Kaïs Saïed said there have been no restrictions on freedom of the press and expression in Tunisia.

"Has any newspaper been censored or any programme been banned? Has a journalist been threatened or prosecuted for an article related to freedom of the press?" he said as he met Prime Minister Najla Bouden Thursday at the Carthage Palace.

"These are pure lies and slander that the people know (...) the truth will come out to enlighten Tunisians about those who deprive them of their livelihoods and those who try to harm social peace," Saied further pointed out.

In the same vein, he criticised the defamation campaigns against Tunisia that are being waged from Tunisia. «Unfortunately, these campaigns find a receptive audience among those who are totally ignorant of the reality of the situation in Tunisia,» he lamented.

Saied added that there was "a strange paradox in Tunisia: the person who claims to be threatened with assassination and who shouts it loudly enjoys close protection, while the person who 'cries out' for freedom of expression (...) speaks freely every day on radio and television channels and social media.»

Journalists, on Thursday, observed a «day of anger» called by their union, to denounce violations of freedom of expression and attempts to "muzzle voices and subjugate the media."

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