Exactly one week after leading opposition politician, Chokri Belaid was assassinated on February 6, 2013 in Tunis, prominent journalist and member of the executive office of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), Zied El Heni, accused members of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and leaders of the ruling Ennahda Movement of being involved in Belaid’s murder.
Exactly one week after leading opposition politician, Chokri Belaid was assassinated on February 6, 2013 in Tunis, prominent journalist and member of the executive office of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), Zied El Heni, accused members of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and leaders of the ruling Ennahda Movement of being involved in Belaid’s murder.
El Heni appeared before the investigating magistrate in Chamber 13 at Tunis Court of First Instance on February 13 to testify in the case of Belaid’s assassination, along with a number of lawyers and media professionals who insisted on accompanying El Heni during the hearing.
Mr. El Heni, you made serious accusations against Ennahda and the MoI on Nessma TV channel. Do you have evidence?
Of course! I did not come up with this out of thin air. I have evidence of what I have said and I will present it to the judiciary as a matter of responsibility, first as a journalist and secondly, as a citizen of this country.
Will you reveal your source to the investigating magistrate?
I will provide the investigating magistrate with irrefutable evidence verifying the information I have stated, and I will reveal new facts.
Do you trust the judiciary even though it summoned you at night after you left the channel’s studio on the weekend?
Firstly, it should be noted that I was summoned to the investigating magistrate by the anti-crime squad rather than the public prosecution. Secondly, I will testify and ask the public prosecution to refer the case to the military court because I believe it is more qualified to examine such cases. Besides, the ministries of justice and interior are chaired by two ministers from Ennahda, which I have accused of being involved in the crime in collusion with the MoI bodies.
Do not you fear assault or assassination after these statements?
I am aware of every word I have said and take full responsibility before the court. I fear neither threats nor assassinations and I believe it is shameful to keep silent. On the other hand, I was waiting for this moment, and I actually sought to stand in front of the investigating magistrate to brief him on the information I had.
Before entering the judge’s office, you insisted on bringing lawyers with you to the hearing. Are you afraid of your testimony being tampered with?
As I told you, a minister belonging to Ennahda heads the Ministry of Justice, so I insisted on the attendance of the defense attorney to ward off all assumptions that may change the course of the suit or the witnesses’ testimony, including mine. Throughout the period I spent in the investigating magistrate’s office, I was afraid of being taken without signing the report, but having signed it, I believe now that I have perfectly performed my duty.
There was a great fear, whether by lawyers or your fellow journalists, of being arrested by the police after you came out of the courtroom. What do you say?
In such circumstances, all possibilities are on the table. Actually, maybe there was an intention to arrest me since the lawyers informed me that the prosecutor summoned me to his office, in violation of legal procedures. The lawyers rejected, demanding summoning me according to the applicable procedures of the Tunisian law, namely sending a writ and notifying me of the summons either to my domicile or to my lawyers.
It seems that your experience with the judiciary and court will not be merely as a witness.
They know that I have many facts, so I expect to be summoned as a witness and probably they will try to put pressure on me in different ways. Nevertheless, I insist on revealing the killers of Chokri Belaid, as a matter of national responsibility, whatever it takes.
