May 7 (Reuters) – A Tunisian court sentenced the prominent reporter Zied Heni to one year in prison on Thursday, after he criticized a judicial ruling, his lawyer told Reuters, the latest move that critics say aims to silence critical voices.
Heni was detained last month after writing an article criticising the judiciary, a move the journalists’ union said was part of a broader crackdown on free speech.
Heni’s lawyer Nafaa Laaribi said that the ruling “is harsh, and it reinforces restrictions on free speech”.
Heni said on Wednesday in a letter from prison published by his family that he would not appeal any ruling.
“I’m facing an illegitimate trial in which my rights are being violated. I do not recognize any outcome resulting from it”, he added.
Rights groups warn of growing attempts to stifle remaining independent voices since President Kais Saied dissolved the elected parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree.
In 2022, President Kais Saied also dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges, a move the opposition said undermined judicial independence and turned it into a body receiving direct instructions.
Saied denies the accusations, saying he fought corruption in the judiciary and that the courts are now independent.
Free speech initially flourished following the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and led to the “Arab Spring”.
But critics say Saied’s accumulation of power in 2021 and decrees he has issued since then have dismantled democratic safeguards and enabled the authorities to pursue many journalists.
The leaders of Tunisia’s main opposition parties have been jailed in the last three years, along with dozens of politicians, journalists, activists and businessmen, on charges of conspiring against state security, money-laundering and corruption.
Saied says he will not be a dictator and that freedoms are guaranteed in Tunisia.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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