A Tunisian court convicted a 51-year-old man on Wednesday and sentenced him to death for Facebook posts that officials deemed offensive to President Kais Saied and threatening to state security. Saber Chouchen faced charges of attempting to overthrow the state, insulting the president, and spreading false information online under the 2022 cybercrime law known as Decree 54. His lawyer stated that most of the content Chouchen shared was copied from other pages, and Chouchen explained in court that he wanted to highlight his difficult living conditions rather than incite unrest.
The verdict represents the first death sentence in modern Tunisian history for online speech, and rights advocates warn it signals an alarming escalation in government efforts to silence dissent. Tunisia has not executed anyone since 1991, but the ruling follows a broader crackdown on critics of Saied after he seized extraordinary powers in July 2021 and dissolved parliament. Human Rights Watch said Tunisian authorities have expanded politically motivated arrests to intimidate critics. The United Nations Human Rights Office accused the government of using the judicial system to suppress dissent.
The verdict represents the first death sentence in modern Tunisian history for online speech, and rights advocates warn it signals an alarming escalation in government efforts to silence dissent. Tunisia has not executed anyone since 1991, but the ruling follows a broader crackdown on critics of Saied after he seized extraordinary powers in July 2021 and dissolved parliament. Human Rights Watch said Tunisian authorities have expanded politically motivated arrests to intimidate critics. The United Nations Human Rights Office accused the government of using the judicial system to suppress dissent.
