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Friday, September 4, 2026 · UTC
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Tunisian Journalists Live Under Deferred Prison Sentences

Four Tunisian journalists remain free despite prison sentences, facing legal limbo under President Kais Saied.

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At least four journalists and commentators in Tunisia remain free despite being sentenced to prison over the last year, while two others are in exile. [1] Tunisian police arrested journalist Mohamed Yousfi as he was preparing to enter Express FM Radio to participate in a radio program. [2] Hamza Belloumi and Insaf Boughdiri were sentenced in absentia in July 2026 to one year in prison and an 8,000-dinar fine each for a 2015 case involving a manipulated video broadcast on their program 'Al Yawm Athamen'. [3] Haythem el-Mekki was sentenced on July 8, 2026, by the Sfax Court of Appeal to one year in prison for a social media post denouncing failings at Habib Bourguiba University Hospital, a conviction that forced him to flee Tunisia. [4] Ziad Debbar, president of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), described the situation of journalists with prison sentences but no immediate incarceration as 'deferred imprisonment' to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). [5] Mohamed Yousfi is an outspoken critic of Tunisian President Kais Saied and serves as the editor-in-chief of the investigative news website Al-Qatiba. [6] Rights groups warn of growing attempts to stifle remaining independent voices in Tunisia since President Kais Saied suspended parliament in 2021 and dissolved it in 2022, ruling by decree. [7] Several media figures have been jailed this year, including Zied Heni, Mourad Zghidi, Borhen Bsaies, and Khaoula Boukrim, who was sentenced in June to four years in absentia. [8]
What this stands on
  1. At least four journalists and commentators in Tunisia remain free despite being sentenced to prison over the last year, while two others are in exile. · Committee to Protect Journalists
  2. Tunisian police arrested journalist Mohamed Yousfi as he was preparing to enter Express FM Radio to participate in a radio program. · middleeasteye.net
  3. Hamza Belloumi and Insaf Boughdiri were sentenced in absentia in July 2026 to one year in prison and an 8,000-dinar fine each for a 2015 case involving a manipulated video broadcast on their program 'Al Yawm Athamen'. · Committee to Protect Journalists
  4. Haythem el-Mekki was sentenced on July 8, 2026, by the Sfax Court of Appeal to one year in prison for a social media post denouncing failings at Habib Bourguiba University Hospital, a conviction that forced him to flee Tunisia. · Committee to Protect Journalists
  5. Ziad Debbar, president of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), described the situation of journalists with prison sentences but no immediate incarceration as 'deferred imprisonment' to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). · Committee to Protect Journalists
  6. Mohamed Yousfi is an outspoken critic of Tunisian President Kais Saied and serves as the editor-in-chief of the investigative news website Al-Qatiba. · middleeasteye.net
  7. Rights groups warn of growing attempts to stifle remaining independent voices in Tunisia since President Kais Saied suspended parliament in 2021 and dissolved it in 2022, ruling by decree. · middleeasteye.net
  8. Several media figures have been jailed this year, including Zied Heni, Mourad Zghidi, Borhen Bsaies, and Khaoula Boukrim, who was sentenced in June to four years in absentia. · middleeasteye.net
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