A Tunisian court on Wednesday sentenced political analyst Murad al-Zaghdidi and TV and radio presenter Brahim Bessis to one year in prison each for their critical statements against the authority.
The spokesperson for the Tunisian Court of First Instance, Mohamed Zouita, said the court decided to imprison Zaghdidi and Bessis for 6 months for “the crime of using information networks and systems to produce, promote, broadcast, and prepare false news and rumors with the aim of infringing upon the rights of others and harming public security.”
They were also sentenced to an additional 6 months in prison “for the crime of exploiting information systems to spread news containing untrue matters with the aim of defaming others, tarnishing reputations, and causing material and moral damage.”
Lawyer Nizar Ayadi explained that his client, media figure Brahim Bessis, was arrested based on several recordings of radio and television programs dating back to 2019 and 2020, as well as posts on the social network “Facebook.”
The lawyer added that the public prosecutor’s office “considered this a crime of using information systems to publish and spread news containing personal data and untrue matters with the aim of defaming others and tarnishing their reputation.”
The lawyer pointed out that the “other” referred to in the case of his client, Brahim Bessis, is President Kais Saied.
Last Wednesday, the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of First Instance in Tunis issued two arrest warrants against the journalists Brahim Bessis and Murad al-Zaghdidi, referring them to the Criminal Chamber for charges under Article 24 of Decree No. 54.
