NAZIHA BOUSSAIDI

Tunisia — Journalist at Al-Katiba website and head of the Freedoms Committee at the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, Yosra Belali, has in recent days been subjected to an electronic campaign on social media targeting her personally, questioning her nationality and belonging to Tunisia, and distorting her credibility and journalistic integrity.

The National Observatory for the Safety of Tunisian Journalists is following this campaign, according to the Observatory's head, Khawla Chabchoub, and is documenting all violations in order to take the necessary legal measures to protect the journalist.

The head of the National Observatory for the Safety of Tunisian Journalists, Khawla Chabchoub, affirmed that the incitement campaign that targeted journalist and union leader Yosra Belali in recent days—against the backdrop of her union activity as head of the Freedoms Committee at the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, her journalistic work with the "Al-Katiba" website, as well as the circulation of personal data concerning her—is a condemned campaign targeting her at the personal, professional, and union levels.

She explained that the campaign is based, in her assessment, on gender‑based targeting, aimed at restricting Yosra Belali and pushing her to withdraw from the public sphere and union work, affirming that these efforts will not succeed in achieving their goals.

She stressed that Yosra Belali is among the union leaders within the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, having been elected by the Syndicate's members in a transparent electoral process. She currently holds a union position and membership in the expanded executive bureau. She considered that targeting her represents, in part, targeting the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists and the "Al-Katiba" institution with which she works.

 

The Campaign Is a Starting Point for Taking Legal Measures

Khawla Chabchoub noted that this campaign comes in an incitement context she described as unacceptable. She pointed out that the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists condemned, during the press conference it held yesterday, what Yosra Belali was subjected to, affirmed its solidarity with journalists, and stressed the role Yosra Belali played during her chairmanship of the Freedoms Committee in defending press freedom and freedom of journalistic work.

She stated that the monitoring unit affiliated with the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists has, since the campaign began, been documenting various forms of targeting and incitement against the journalist, noting that a number of activists on social media participated in fueling it.

She said that those behind these campaigns are "known" for their hostility to press freedom and their targeting of union work in the sector, as well as targeting civil society activists and political activists, through a discourse of accusation, defamation, interference in private life, use of personal data, and slander.

Khawla Chabchoub explained that this campaign is based on gender and targets journalist Yosra Belali with the aim of restricting her and pushing her to leave the public sphere as well as the digital space. She added that communication was made with Yosra Belali to express full solidarity with her, affirming that this campaign will be a starting point for taking the necessary legal measures, ensuring that those responsible for these abuses are held accountable and not allowed to escape punishment.

 

An Attempt to Limit Their Presence in the Public Sphere

She noted that the campaign targeting Yosra Belali is not the first of its kind, explaining that journalist Khawla Boukrim is also being subjected to a campaign questioning her patriotism and inciting against her, along with targeting her private life and publishing composite photos and videos unrelated to her, in an attempt to undermine her reputation and push her to leave the public sphere.

She added that similar campaigns have targeted a number of female journalists, including Amira Mohamed, Mounia Arafaoui, and others, noting that some activists on social media deliberately, each time, restrict female journalists with the aim of pushing them to withdraw from the public sphere.

She explained that targeting female journalists is linked, in part, to their positions advocating for women's rights and defending rights and freedoms, as well as their continuous expression of their opinions and positions toward public policies.

Khawla Chabchoub affirmed that expressing opinion, monitoring and criticizing public policies, is at the core of journalistic work, as a fundamental mechanism for contributing to reform and change. She considered that targeting female journalists because of their journalistic and human rights activity represents an attempt to limit their presence in the public sphere and their role in monitoring public affairs.