May 7 (Reuters) – A Tunisian court sentenced the \u2060prominent \u2060reporter Zied Heni to \u2060one year in prison on Thursday, after he criticized a \u200bjudicial ruling, his lawyer told Reuters, the latest move that critics say aims \u200cto silence critical voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heni was \u200cdetained last month after writing an article criticising the judiciary, a move \u2060the journalists’ \u2060union said was part of a broader crackdown on free \u200bspeech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heni’s lawyer Nafaa Laaribi said that the ruling “is harsh, and it reinforces restrictions on free speech\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heni said on Wednesday in a letter from prison published by his family \u200bthat he would not appeal any ruling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I’m facing an illegitimate trial in \u2060which my \u2060rights are being violated. \u2060I \u200bdo not recognize any outcome resulting from it”, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rights groups warn of \u200bgrowing attempts to stifle \u2060remaining independent voices since President Kais Saied dissolved the elected parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022, President Kais Saied also dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges, a move the opposition said \u2060undermined judicial independence and turned it into a body receiving direct instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saied \u2060denies the accusations, saying he fought corruption in the judiciary and that the courts are now independent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Free speech initially flourished following the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and led to the “Arab Spring”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The leaders of Tunisia’s main \u2060opposition 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saied says he will not be \u200ba dictator and that freedoms are guaranteed in Tunisia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
May 7 (Reuters) – A Tunisian court sentenced the \u2060prominent \u2060reporter Zied Heni to \u2060one year in prison on Thursday, after he criticized a \u200bjudicial ruling, his lawyer told Reuters, the latest move that critics say aims \u200cto silence critical voices. Heni was \u200cdetained last month after writing an article criticising the judiciary, a move […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,10],"tags":[16,22,26,40,15,39,38],"class_list":{"0":"post-266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-la-une","8":"category-politics","9":"tag-jdd-tunisie","10":"tag-la-une","11":"tag-politics","12":"tag-prison","13":"tag-tunisia","14":"tag-zied-el-heni","15":"tag-zied-heni"},"yoast_head":"\n