Al Jazeera journalists detained in Rad猫s, forced to delete photos
Two journalists from Al Jazeera's Tunis bureau, Mahmoud Majdoub and Ahmed Ayari, were detained on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, while photographing for a report on bottled mineral water supply difficulties. According to Lotfi Hajji, director of Al Jazeera's Tunis office, the journalists were taken to a police station in Rad猫s, interrogated for nearly an hour, and then released. However, they were compelled to delete the photos taken for their work before their release. Similar incidents have affected several journalists working for other television channels in recent weeks. This incident raises concerns about the conditions under which journalists can perform their work in the field and document matters of public interest. A call has been made for journalists to work "in complete freedom," noting that in the age of smartphones, citizens themselves document and widely disseminate events, making any attempt to prevent media coverage illusory.