Tunisia’s television watchdog HAICA, (Haute Autorité Indépendante de la Communication Audiovisuelle), has decided to close the private television channel Nessma TV because it broadcast programmes without legal authorization.
The police raided the channel’s offices on April 25th to seize equipment and thus force it to cease broadcasting.
The Tunisian channel was asked to modify its statutes in order to meet HAICA’s specifications. Radhia Saïdi, head of the Authority, told Agence France Presse that “Nessma has been broadcasting without a license since 2014. After many attempts to find a solution with the channel, we have put into practice the decision taken on April 15th to seize their equipment.”
Despite their equipment being seized, Nessma TV resumed broadcasting on May 1st, at the same time agreeing to regularise its situation.
However, the private channel’s resumption of broadcasting is happening outside any legal framework, since HAICA has not given its authorisation. On May 10th the Authority sent another warning to Nessma TV to stop broadcasting.
The channel responded to HAICA in a statement, saying it believes the broadcasting watchdog no longer has any legal remit since its mandate expired on May 3rd, and therefore it no longer has any decision-making power.
Sources: https://www.afp.com, https://www.jeuneafrique.com, https://www.huffpostmaghreb.com
