The latest issue of the Tunisian weekly, al-Mawqif, has disappeared from the news-stands – apparently confiscated by government agents.

There has been no court order (which would make the seizure legal) and the government denies taking action against the paper, though witnesses have reported seeing plainclothes agents removing copies.

Al-Mawqif was last confiscated on March 27. There are two likely explanations for the latest seizure of the paper, which is published by the opposition Progressive Democratic Party.

One is that the offending issue predicted an amendment to the constitution allowing 75-year-old President Ben Ali to seek another term in 2014, and denounced the idea of a "presidency for life".

The other is that it included an article about the arrest last week of Fahem Boukadous, a Tunisian journalist who is critical of the regime.

Boukadous is facing a four-year jail sentence "belonging to a criminal association" and spreading materials "likely to harm public order". He was arrested on July 15 after being discharged from hospital, where he was being treated for breathing problems. The case arose out of his coverage of violent protests in the Gafsa mining region of Tunisia in 2008.

The US State Department has criticised the way Boukadous has been treated and earlier this month a spokesman said: "The United States is deeply concerned about the decline in political freedoms, notably severe restrictions on freedom of expression in Tunisia."

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 20 July 2010.