Tunisian government has been targetting the freedom of the press and freedom of expression, through the arrest of journalists and bringing them to trial in political cases.
According to the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, three Tunisian journalists appeared before the judiciary in various cases, on Friday, January 10, 2025.
The union stated that journalist Shaza Al-Haj Mubarak, who has been detained since July 2023, appeared before the Criminal Court, after her arrest in the “Instalingo” case, which dates back to October 2021, as she was charged with conspiring against state security and espionage. Company employees, journalists, bloggers and politicians were arrested in this case.
On the same day, media professional and civil activist Ghassan Ben Khalifa appeared before the Court to be tried over posts he shared on Facebook in 2022. Despite him denying it, he was charged with insulting others on the internet and committing an obscene act against the President of the Republic.
Likewise, journalist Sania Al-Dahmani, had an appeal session at the Court of Appeal to decide on the appeal submitted by her defence team against the courts decision to sentence her to two years in prison over statements she made on TV, in which she criticised the general situation and mocked government policies, especially the issue of irregular migration.
The National Union of Tunisian Journalists condemned “the ongoing use of a systematic criminalisation policy against journalists”, calling for respect for the provisions of Decree 115 on freedom of the press, printing and publishing, and the suspension of all judicial prosecutions outside this framework. It also demanded the abolition of all sentences against journalists, which aim to deprive them of their freedom.
The trial of journalists in Tunisia represents a clear threat to internationally guaranteed freedom of expression, and it also represents a setback in the democratic gains that Tunisians have struggled to achieve after the revolution, which requires the intervention of the international community and human rights organisations to stop these violations.
