A Tunisian court on Thursday sentenced MP Ahmed Saidani to eight months in prison over a Facebook post in which he criticized President Kais Saied following the recent floods, which revived the debate about the use of communications laws to pursue critical voices, and the decline in freedoms in Tunisia since 2021.
Published on: 02/20/2026 - 01:06 Last updated: 02/20/2026 - 08:28
On Thursday, a Tunisian court sentenced parliamentarian Ahmed Al-Saidani to eight months in prison, due to a Facebook post in which he criticized President Kais Saied following the recent floods, according to local media reports.
Saedani's arrest came at the beginning of this month after he published a blog post in which he commented on Saeed's meeting with two ministers after exceptional rains that caused torrential rains and extensive damage to infrastructure in a number of regions. He wrote in it: "The president decided to officially expand his jurisdiction to roads and pipes. It seems that the new title will be the Supreme Commander of Sanitation and Rainwater Drainage."
The MP's lawyer, Houssam Eddine Ben Attia, explained that his client is being tried based on Chapter 86 of the Telecommunications Code, which stipulates a prison sentence of one to two years and a fine between one hundred and one thousand dinars (about 300 euros) for anyone who "intentionally offends others or disturbs their comfort via public telecommunications networks."
Read also: Tunisia: Has dissent become a crime?
Since Saied took power into his own hands in July 2021 and granted himself broad powers, Tunisia has witnessed repeated criticism from local and international organizations that talk about a decline in the conditions of rights and freedoms.
Al-Saidani is not considered a prominent political figure, although he publicly supported Saeed's decisions in the summer of 2021 to gather powers, and supported the conviction and detention of a number of the most prominent opposition figures.
Last month, Tunisia witnessed record amounts of rainfall, the highest in more than 70 years. The torrential rains resulted in the deaths of at least five people and others are still missing.
France 24/AFP
Keywords related to the article
The content you want to browse is no longer in service or is currently unavailable.
