Tunisia detains Mohamed Yousfi before radio interview

Tunisian authorities detained journalist Mohamed Yousfi on Friday as he arrived for a radio interview, the programme host and the head of Tunisia's journalists' union said.

Walid Ben Rhouma, the Express FM host, said Yousfi, editor-in-chief of the Alqatiba website, was stopped outside the radio lobby, barred from entering the programme and taken away for questioning.

Zied Dabbar, president of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, said it was unclear why Yousfi was detained. Dabbar said he believed the move was linked to Yousfi's journalism critical of the authorities.

Dabbar said Yousfi had been due to discuss water issues in Tunisia during the broadcast. Alqatiba is an independent Tunisian media outlet known for investigative reporting and long-form coverage of political, economic, social and environmental issues.

Press freedom groups have voiced concern over civil liberties in Tunisia, where journalists, lawyers, opposition figures and activists have faced arrest and prosecution in recent years. Local media reported that lawyer Ghazi Mrabet, known for handling politically sensitive and civil liberties cases, was arrested Thursday and placed in custody in a case reportedly involving alleged drug trafficking, with conflicting accounts of the circumstances.