Tunisia: an independent journalist, a fierce critic of the president, sentenced to four years in prison

A Tunisian court sentenced independent journalist Zied El-Heni to four years in prison on terrorism-related charges. El-Heni, a vocal critic of President Kaïs Saïed, had previously received a one-year sentence for comments on press freedom. The latest charges stem from leaked audio recordings linked to Mondher Ounissi, a former interim leader of the opposition party Ennahdha, who was also sentenced to nine years. Many Ennahdha members have been imprisoned since Saïed's power grab in 2021, and El-Heni's charges included failing to report a terrorist crime. Other defendants in the case received lengthy sentences but fled abroad. Numerous critics of Saïed remain incarcerated.