Interior ministry spokesperson resigns over "lack of transparency"

The spokesman for the Tunisian interior ministry said he had resigned in protest at the lack of transparency in the ministry's dealings with the media.

AFP/Fethi Belaid

Neji Ziiri, who had been appointed to his post in February, said that his resignation on Saturday had been quickly acceped by Interior Minister Habib Essid, who appointed a high-ranking police officer, Mohamed Hichem Moueddeb, to replace him.

He noted that after the popular uprising which led to the ouster of president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in January, he had sought to promote a "free and transparent media environment".

"But it became clear that the room for manoeuvre remains very limited so I
resigned," Ziiri said.

Tunisian journalists complain that there remain lingering hurdles to genuine press freedom in post-Ben Ali Tunisia.