Tunisia jails journalist for four years over terrorism charges

Zied el-Heni. Photo: IFMTV

A Tunisian court sentenced jailed independent journalist Zied el-Heni on Tuesday to four years in prison on terrorism charges, his lawyer told AFP.

Heni, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied, was sentenced to a year in prison in a separate case in May over remarks he had made about freedom of the press in Tunisia.

The charges brought against him in the latest case included “forming a terrorist group”, according to defence lawyer Yasmine Ben Brahim.

The case stems from leaked audio recordings attributed to Mondher Ounissi — a former interim leader of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha opposition movement — that Heni once reported on, she said.

Ounissi was sentenced to nine years in prison in the same case, she added, though it remained unclear what the recordings contained.

Many of Ennahdha’s members have been jailed or have fled the country since Saied staged a sweeping power grab in 2021.

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Ennahdha’s 85-year-old chief, Rached Ghannouchi, has been jailed since 2023 for plotting against the state.

Heni was initially questioned as a witness in the case after reporting on the leaked recordings, but the charges on which he was convicted included “failing to report a terrorist crime”, Ben Brahim said.

Other defendants in the case were sentenced to 25 years in prison in absentia, she added.

Dozens of Saied’s critics are currently behind bars.

AFP

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