Summary El-Heni's lawer says the detention order has been issued without hearing her client.
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) - A lawyer says a Tunisian journalist has been detained for questioning the government s case against a TV cameraman who is in custody.
Journalist Zied el-Heni was detained Friday for allegedly defaming a civil servant by saying on the private Nessma TV channel that he has evidence that the case against the cameraman arrested for filming the egging of a minister was fabricated.
El-Heni s lawer, Moufida Belghith, said the detention order was issued without hearing her client s side of the story.
Since the uprising that overthrew Tunisia s dictator, journalists have repeatedly run afoul of laws banning defamation of government employees.
In a statement Friday, Human Rights Watch criticized judicial authorities for using certain articles of the penal code to repress free speech, referring to cases against at least two other journalists.
