ARP presidency hesitant about submitting initiative to amend Decree-law no. 54 (Rapporteur)

Tunis: The Presidency of the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) is still hesitating about the submission of the amendment initiative pertaining to Decree-Law No. 2022-54 on combating information and communications offences.This is the main hurdle to bringing its forward to the Rights and Freedoms Committee, said rapporteur Mohamed Ali.Signatories of this initiative are pushing for its submission at almost every ARP Bureau meeting, he added."We are sparing no effort to get this initiative through but there are still few concerns about these amendments," he told the media on the fringes of his participation in a meeting held Saturday by the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (French: SNJT) to mark World Press Freedom Day.There is need to enact a law that abides with international standards and which does not serve to curb freedom of expression, he added. This legislative initiative, signed by 40 MPs, had been tabled on February 20 but failed to be submitted yet to the relevant committee.Th e amendments focus on articles 5, 9, 10, 12, 21, 22, 23 and 24, he added, The decree-law provisions do not only target journalists but all Tunisians and "are used to silence voices and restrict freedom of expression".Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse