Tunisia man sentenced to death for social media posts seen as insulting to president
The ruling is the first of its kind in the country, where leader Kais Saied has seized power over all branches of government
A court in Tunisia has sentenced a 51-year-old man to death over social media posts deemed offensive to President Kais Saied and a threat to state security, his lawyer said on Friday.
The defendant, identified as Saber Chouchane by human rights activists, was convicted on Wednesday of three charges: attempting to overthrow the state, insulting the president and spreading false information online.
Judges said the posts incited violence and chaos and violated Tunisia’s penal code as well as the controversial 2022 cybercrime law, Decree 54.
The ruling is the first of its kind in Tunisia, where dozens have been handed heavy prison sentences over similar charges since Saied seized power over all branches of government in July 2021.
Although capital punishment remains in Tunisia’s penal code and civilian courts occasionally issue death sentences, none have been carried out since the execution of a serial killer in 1991.
In a statement on social media, lawyer Oussama Bouthelja said that his client had been in pretrial detention since January 2024. He said the father of three is an occasional day labourer and suffers from a permanent disability caused by a workplace accident.