51-year-old Tunisian man sentenced to death over Facebook posts against president

A Tunisian court in Nabeul has sentenced a 51-year-old man to death over Facebook posts considered offensive to President Kais Saied, his lawyer and a human rights group said on Friday. The defendant, identified as Saber Chouchane by rights activists, was convicted on charges that included “spreading false news”, according to his lawyer, Oussama Bouthelja.

Bouthelja said that Chouchane was found guilty of “insulting the president, the minister of justice, and the judiciary”, and that some of his posts were deemed to be incitement. The court delivered its verdict on Wednesday. An appeal against the ruling will be filed, Bouthelja said. Chouchane was detained in January 2024, reported AFP.

Rights concerns and legal context

The Paris-based Tunisian human rights group CRLDHT condemned the sentence, describing it as setting “a serious precedent” and calling for Chouchane’s “immediate release”. The group stated Tunisia has reached “unprecedented levels of human rights violations”.

Under Tunisian law, “an attack intended to change the state structure or incite residents to attack each other with weapons, causing chaos, murder and robbery on Tunisian soil” is punishable by death. While death sentences continue to be issued, Tunisia has not carried out executions since 1991.

President Saied, elected in 2019, staged a sweeping consolidation of power in 2021. Since then, rights groups have voiced concerns over reduced freedoms. In September 2022, Saied introduced Decree 54, which criminalises “spreading false news” and has been criticised for curbing free speech. Dozens of Saied’s critics have faced prosecution under this law and remain in detention. Critics have also accused Tunisia’s judiciary of following “political instructions”, although Saied insists the courts operate independently and protect individual freedoms.