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Tunisian authorities released a 51-year-old day laborer who was sentenced to death last week for Facebook posts criticizing President Kais Saied — a ruling that human rights groups said reflected the country’s deepening crackdown on free speech.
Lawyer Oussama Bouthelja announced Tuesday that his client, Saber Chouchane, had been freed after the verdict sparked outrage at home and abroad. The reversal followed mounting public pressure.
According to Bassem Trifi, head of the Tunisian Human Rights League, Chouchane withdrew his appeal and his case may have been referred to the president, who then ordered a pardon.
"This death sentence for mere Facebook posts calling for protests and criticizing the president and his authorities is unprecedented,” Human Rights Watch told OCCRP in an email. “This shocking verdict shows how badly the rule of law in Tunisia has been undermined and fundamental freedoms completely violated.”
Chouchane was arrested in January 2024 for social media posts deemed offensive to the president and the state. He was convicted of “insulting the president” and “assaulting state security.”
Since President Saied seized sweeping powers in 2021, dissolved parliament, and began ruling by decree, dozens of journalists, activists, and opposition figures have been arrested under Decree 54, a law that criminalizes “false news.” Critics say the measure has become a tool to silence dissent.
Although Tunisia still issues death sentences, it has not carried out an execution in more than three decades. The ruling against Chouchane drew widespread ridicule and fury online, with many viewing it as an attempt to intimidate citizens into silence.
Rights groups, including HuMENA, condemned the verdict as a “collapse of the rule of law and freedom of expression.” Former Member of Parliament Oussama Khlifi expressed support on social media, writing: “99% We are with Saber Chouchane.”
This story has been corrected to clarify that Oussama Khlifi is a former member of the parliament as the parliament was dissolved by the president.
