A Tunisian court has sentenced two prominent journalists to new prison terms, in what critics describe as the government’s latest effort to suppress dissent.
The criminal chamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance on Thursday handed radio journalists Bohran Bssaies and Mourad Zghidi sentences of three and a half years for “money laundering,” according to a judicial source cited by Tunisia’s state TAP news agency.
Rights groups say the convictions are part of a growing pattern targeting opposition figures, journalists, and other critics of President Kais Saied, whose government has been accused of rolling back freedoms since he took office in 2019.
Bssaies and Zghidi were originally jailed in May 2024 on charges of “spreading false news” under Tunisia’s controversial Decree Law 54 on cybercrime.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the journalists’ “only ‘crime’ was to comment on and criticise political decisions” by Saied.
Before completing their eight-month sentence, the pair faced additional tax-related charges, which their defense says concern routine matters. RSF called the case “legal persecution” and urged Tunisian authorities to release them immediately.
“So long as journalists are put behind bars for their work, the Tunisian public’s right to information will remain seriously threatened,” said Oussama Bouagila, RSF’s North Africa director.
The case comes after December’s arrest of Tunisia’s top opposition figure, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, 81, who was sentenced to 12 years for allegedly plotting against the state a trial widely condemned by rights groups as politically motivated.
The previous month, dozens more opposition figures received sentences of up to 45 years in a so-called “conspiracy case.”
Tunisian courts have also ordered the release of several high-profile detainees in recent months, including lawyer and Saied critic Sonia Dahmani and journalist Chatha Belhaj Mubarak.
“Chadha Hadj Mbarek’s release must not remain an isolated act. It should pave the way toward respect for press freedom,” Bouagila said.
In 2025, Tunisia dropped 11 places in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, falling from 118th to 129th out of 180 countries.
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