Tunisia hands down additional prison sentence to government critic

A Tunisian court has sentenced lawyer and media personality Sonia Dahmani to two years in prison for comments addressing racism in the country, her legal team said Thursday according to AFP. Dahmani, 56, was arrested in May after receiving an eight-month prison sentence in a separate case, where she had made public remarks that authorities deemed critical of the government. The latest charges came after she spoke out about racism against sub-Saharan Africans and Black Tunisians, claiming they face discrimination in the country. 

She made the commnents during a television appearance, where she sarcastically questioned Tunisia’s handling of migration, indirectly referencing a speech by President Kais Saied. The president, who has ruled by decree since 2021, was reelected this month in a landslide. In both cases, Dahmani was charged under the controversial Decree 54, which, criminalizes "spreading false news" and has been used to prosecute numerous journalists, lawyers, and political opponents. Dahmani still faces three other legal case, one of her lawyers told AFP.