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After Months of Provisional Bail: Mohamed Boughalleb Sentenced to Two Years in Prison Despite Deteriorating Health

July 9, 2025 – The Criminal Chamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced journalist Mohamed Boughalleb to two years in prison with immediate effect on Thursday. This sentence was referred to him under Decree No. 54, based on a complaint filed by a university professor on charges of “insulting a public official via the public telecommunications network.”

Boughalleb appeared before the court while on bail, and his defense team requested a postponement to summon the complainant. However, the court decided to issue its prison sentence in absentia, according to lawyer Hamadi Zaafrani, a member of his defense team.

Case Background:

Mohamed Boughalleb had previously spent 11 months in prison between March 2024 and February 2025, after being convicted in two separate cases:

The first was for defaming a public official. The initial sentence was amended from one year to eight months in prison.

The second was for posts deemed insulting to a university professor, for which he was also sentenced to prison.

Boughalleb was released on bail in February 2025, but he remained vulnerable to further prosecution for his past positions and opinions. Despite his voluntary abstention from political commentary since his release from prison, judicial authorities continued to pursue him as part of a systematic policy of intimidating journalists and promoting self-censorship.

Documented Violations Against Him:

During his detention, Mohamed Boughalleb was subjected to ill-treatment and a clear deterioration in his health. No investigation was opened into these abuses, reflecting the lack of accountability for the violations committed against detained journalists and other prisoners of conscience.

Mohamed Boughalleb suffers from several chronic illnesses, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart problems, which require regular medication. His health also deteriorated during his imprisonment. He lost all sight in his right eye and suffers from severe hearing loss in his left ear. He also suffers from severe prostate pain that impedes his ability to sit, as well as skin swelling.

The Freedom for Tunisia Observatory demands:

  • The immediate and unconditional release of Mohamed Boughalleb and the end of the arbitrary prosecutions against him.
  • An independent investigation into his previous detention conditions and the violations he suffered.
  • A comprehensive review of Decree No. 54 to ensure respect for freedom of expression and prohibit the prosecution of journalists based on their opinions.
  • Ending the use of the judiciary as a tool for political and media intimidation in Tunisia.

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Call to Action

Website petition: Freedom for prisoners of conscience and activists in Tunisia!

Tunisia is no longer the Arab exception that inspired the world in 2011 with a heroic revolution that overthrew the rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled for nearly 23 years after seizing power on November 7, 1987, in a coup against Habib Bourguiba.

In a similar and perhaps more dangerous move, on the night of July 25, 2021, Tunisian President Kais Saied carried out a “constitutional coup” in accordance with his personal interpretation of Article 80 of the 2014 Revolutionary Constitution, announcing that he had taken a set of exceptional measures due to the “imminent danger” that threatens Tunisia without providing any details or reasons.

In accordance with these measures, Saied dismissed the government and the prime minister Hichem Mechichi who was present at the National Security Council that night at the Carthage Palace, and claimed that he had contacted the Speaker of Parliament Rached Ghannouchi (leader of the Ennahdha party) to consult with him in accordance with what is stipulated by the constitution, a claim which Ghannouchi denied since the call was general and did not include anything about exceptional measures or any consultation on the matter. The president suspended Parliament and later dissolved it in March 2022.

Not only did Saied seek to bypass his powers and the articles of the Constitution, which he swore to protect before the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, but he went on to dismiss and change the composition of the Supreme Judicial Council after redefining the judiciary it as a “function” rather than an independent authority. He further replaced members of the Supreme Electoral Commission in preparation for the referendum he held in order to vote on a constitution that he wrote himself after dismissing the proposals of the drafting committee he had himself appointed. Then legislative elections were held over two rounds, in which the participation rate did not exceed 8% of the total number of voters, with the Election Commission later announcing that it had reached 11%, which is the lowest participation rate in Tunisia and globally.

On February 11, President Saied’s regime launched a campaign of protests that has not stopped since, against political leaders, media figures, journalists, judges and senior officials and civil servants, for charges of “conspiring against the security of the state and committing an offensive act against the President of the Republic,” in addition to other charges that were referred to the military prosecution, leading one to wonder about the implication of the Tunisian army in the actions taken by Saied.

The arbitrary arrests were marred by several procedural violations amid criticism from prominent international organizations and observatories in the field of human rights. The standards of litigation and detention period and conditions were not respected. Prosecution and harassment sometimes extended to the detainees’ families, and no evidence, and in many cases, no charges against them were presented.

Moreover trade unions and political parties continue to be subjected to constant harassment and restrictions. Saied continues to target all “intermediary bodies” accusing them of “collaboration” or “treason”. Civil society associations have also been subjected to prosecution, arbitrary arrests and deprivation from representation, in a context of of increasing violence in society due to the authorities’ adoption of racist and discriminatory speeches and rhetoric inciting infighting and violating human dignity.

In light of the above, we, the undersigned, demand the following:

Call for the immediate release of all political detainees, immediately and unconditionally. We also urge the Tunisian authorities to recognize the national and the international human rights treaties they have ratified.
Call on the Tunisian authorities to stop dismantling the nascent democracy and put an end to unfair trials and prosecutions against political opponents of the regime and anyone who criticises it.
Call on all activists and observers to join the national movement for restoring democracy and ending authoritarian rule that has taken Tunisia back to despotism, injustice, and violations of rights and freedoms.