Tunisian Man Sentenced to Death for Criticising President

• Oct 03, 2025

A Tunisian court has sentenced a 56-year-old day labourer to death over Facebook posts that criticised President Kais Saied. The ruling, delivered by a court in Nabeul, has shocked human rights groups who say it is both unprecedented and alarming.

The man, identified as Sabre Chouchane, was arrested last year after publishing posts that prosecutors claimed insulted the president and assaulted state security. According to Oussama Bouthalja, head of the Tunisian League for Human Rights and Chouchane’s lawyer, his client is a regular citizen with little formal education and no political power. He stressed that Chouchane was merely expressing his views online.

“The judge in the Nabeul court sentenced the man to death over Facebook posts. It is a shocking and unprecedented ruling,” Bouthalja told Reuters. He confirmed that the judgment has already been appealed.

Tunisia has long been seen as a symbol of democratic progress in the Arab world. After the 2011 ousting of longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country became the birthplace of the Arab Spring, a wave of regional uprisings demanding freedom and democracy. For many years, Tunisia was considered the most successful story of that movement.

However, critics say the election of Kais Saied in 2019 marked a sharp shift in the nation’s trajectory. Two years after taking office, Saied dissolved parliament, suspended the country’s democratic institutions, and later rewrote the constitution. These actions have fueled accusations that he is undermining democracy and consolidating authoritarian power.

Since then, Saied’s government has faced mounting criticism for targeting political opponents, activists, and dissenting voices. Several opposition figures have been arrested and sentenced in recent years, with rights groups warning that Tunisia’s freedoms are rapidly eroding.

The sentencing of Chouchane has intensified these concerns, raising questions about freedom of expression and the right to criticize leaders without fear of persecution. Human rights advocates argue that punishing a citizen so harshly for online posts is a dangerous precedent that threatens democratic principles in the country.

The appeal process will now determine whether the court upholds or overturns the ruling. For many Tunisians, the case has become a symbol of the growing tension between the government’s push for control and the people’s demand for freedom.