.... Four articles in particular have elicited varying degrees of criticism: Article 5, which regulates the media; Article 28, which defines the status of women; Article 45, which seeks to determine whether the president should be elected by popular vote or parliamentary vote; and Article 3, which calls for the criminalization of religious offenses, stating that “The state guarantees freedom of religious belief and practice and criminalizes all attacks on that which is sacred.”
While every country sets ultimate limits on its citizens’ rights and liberties, Tunisia’s broadly defined efforts to ban criticism of religion in Article 3 are worrisome.
The article in its current, murkily worded formulation will likely restrict the range of expression in Tunisia, and may be used as a convenient vehicle for political and social repression. [Sada] Read more
