Maghreb Edition

Tunisia: Nabil Karoui’s problems escalate after government closes Nessma TVF

Posted On 28 October 2021

Number of times this article was read : 474
Tunisia’s media authority on Wednesday ordered the closure of Nessma TV channel founded by defeated presidential candidate Nabil Karoui.  The authority, known as HAICA, seized the channel’s broadcast equipment and said in a statement that Nessma TV was broadcasting without a licence. “Despite multiple letters and meetings, the channel continued its activities illegally,” the media authority said.
In July Karoui’s former opponent, President Kais Saied, sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and granted himself judicial powers after months of political stalemate.He followed that move last month with measures that effectively allow him to rule by decree, in what opponent’s called his “coup.” HAICA also attributed the channel’s closure to “suspicions of financial and administrative corruption”, adding that the channel’s ownership by a political party leader “influenced the content of its programmes”.  HAICA had previously seized the channel’s equipment in April 2019 for the same reasons. The channel is partly owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Karoui — runner-up in the 2019 presidential election which Saied won — had been arrested alongside his brother in Algeria since late August on charges of “entering the country illegally”.  The two were reportedly released on Tuesday upon a request from their lawyers, according to Algerian and Tunisian media. Karoui, the leader of the Qalb Tounes (Liberal) party, has been under investigation in his home country since 2017 in a money laundering and tax evasion case.  He was arrested in 2019 and spent more than a month in prison during his election campaign, before another six months of preventive detention that ended in June this year.
The business mogul allied himself during the election campaign with the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, Saied’s nemesis, although Karoui opposed Islamist policies and campaigned against poverty. Following Saied’s July 25 power grab, local media spoke of Karoui’s “flight” abroad. In early October, Tunisian authorities seized broadcasting equipment used by another channel, Zitouna TV, which HAICA also said had been operating illegally. Zitouna TV is considered close to Ennahdha and its ally Al-Karama, both of which oppose Saied’s power grab.
AFP
The North Africa Journal's WhatsApp Group
.

Most Recent Stories from the Region

Southern Libya Boils Over: Three Haftar Soldiers Killed in Border Raid Near Niger✓

Three soldiers loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar were killed and several others captured in coordinated attacks on border posts near Niger, underscoring how southern Libya has become a key fault line in the country’s fractured security landscape. Fighters claiming to represent “revolutionaries of the South” say they are targeting Haftar’s forces over dire living conditions and alleged resource plunder, as cross-border armed groups test the limits of state control from Al-Tum to the Salvador Pass.

Tunisia Appeals Court Extends Rached Ghannouchi’s Prison Term by 20 Years✓

Tunisia Appeals Court Extends Rached Ghannouchi’s Prison Term by 20 Years✓

Rached Ghannouchi, the 84-year-old leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda party, has had his prison sentence increased to 20 years in a case known as “Conspiracy 2,” pushing his cumulative jail time from multiple convictions to more than four decades. His defense team says he will not seek a final appeal, denouncing the charges as politically driven and warning that the ruling deepens Tunisia’s crackdown on organized opposition.

Written by The North Africa Journal

The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.