A Tunisian court issued a six-month prison sentence against a civil society activist as punishment for posts and tweets on social media in which she criticized President Kais Saied.

The primary court in the Tunisian capital ruled last Tuesday evening to sentence the blogger and activist Amina Mansour to six months in prison due to posts in which she criticized the exceptional decisions announced by Saied on July 25, by which he suspended the work of the House of Representatives and dismissed the Hichem Mechichi government, monopolizing the legislative and executive authorities.
Mansour published the posts subject to the trial between the end of July and August, in which she criticized the political situation in Tunisia and held Saied responsible, prompting her to be tried in absentia. The court initially ruled to sentence her to one year in prison, then reduced it to six months.
In this context, the head of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, Mohamed Yassine Jelassi, met with a delegation from the European Parliament and presented a summary on the "state of press freedoms in Tunisia" based on the syndicate's role in monitoring Tunisia’s compliance with its international obligations in the field of protecting journalists.
The syndicate president touched upon "the practices carried out by the authority in this area, whether in relation to legislation and institution-building or in respecting press freedom, journalists' right to access information, ensuring their protection when exposed to danger, guaranteeing accountability, and combating impunity in crimes committed against them," according to a statement issued by the syndicate.
On this occasion, Jelassi expressed his satisfaction with the level of communication between the European Parliament and the journalists' syndicate and the Tunisian civil society, especially during the post-revolution period in 2011, emphasizing that the partnership between Tunisia and its European partners "must be based on equality and rejecting any attempts to interfere in Tunisian affairs aimed at undermining the country's sovereignty," warning against "dragging Tunisia into the flames of axis conflicts and trying to push it toward alignment and blind submission to any international strategies, whatever their nature."
For her part, the head of the European Parliament delegation expressed her conviction of the vital role of the syndicate and Tunisian civil society in "protecting the emerging democracy in Tunisia," pointing in this regard to "the European Union's commitment to supporting freedom of the press and expression in Tunisia, unconditionally."
Tunisia is witnessing a significant decline in the level of press freedom and freedom of expression, ranking 94th in the 2022 Press Freedom Index prepared by Reporters Without Borders, after being 73rd.
Mohamed Yassine Jelassi, head of the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate, previously commented that this is the worst that press freedom and freedom of expression have experienced in Tunisia since the 2011 revolution.
On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate posted at the top of its official Facebook page a phrase stating that "Press freedom in Tunisia is facing immediate danger."
The journalists syndicate believes that there is justification for launching this slogan regarding the media situation in Tunisia, as throughout the exceptional period, the syndicate issued repeated statements warning of a setback for press freedom, the most prominent gain after the 2011 revolution, in response to journalists and bloggers being subjected to security investigations and judicial prosecutions due to their opinions or journalistic work.