A court in Tunisia has handed down a four-year prison sentence to journalist Khaoula Boukrim while she remains in exile, according to the reporter’s announcement on Tuesday. Critics view this decision as evidence of an escalating campaign against media freedom and dissenting opinions under President Kais Saied’s leadership.
This sentence against Boukrim follows a pattern of legal action targeting media professionals, with several journalists including Zied Heni, Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies being imprisoned earlier this year.
The founder of news website TUMEDIA, who escaped to Paris last December, learned that courts had issued two separate verdicts against her under Decree-Law 54. This cybercrime legislation, passed in 2022, carries harsh punishments for digital publishing violations.
While human rights organizations claim the statute has become a tool for silencing government opponents and restricting media freedom, officials defend it as essential for fighting false information and digital harassment.
“I was forced to leave to Paris when I learned that legal cases were being prepared against me because of my critical positions toward the president and those around him,” Boukrim told Reuters.
“The ruling is a continuation of the targeting of free journalism and critical voices,” she added.
Government representatives were not available to provide immediate response to the sentencing.
Human rights advocates express concern about increasing efforts to silence remaining independent media voices following Saied’s dissolution of the democratically elected parliament in 2021 and his subsequent governance through executive orders.
Press freedom had initially expanded after the 2011 revolution that removed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the “Arab Spring” movement.
Opposition voices argue that Saied’s consolidation of authority in 2021 and his subsequent executive actions have eliminated democratic protections and given authorities the ability to target numerous journalists.
Over the past three years, leadership from Tunisia’s primary opposition movements have been imprisoned alongside dozens of political figures, advocates and business leaders on accusations including plotting against national security, financial crimes and corruption.
Saied maintains he will not become an authoritarian leader and insists that civil liberties remain protected in Tunisia.
