Key facts
- Journalist Khaoula Boukrim was sentenced to four years in prison in absentia by a Tunisian court.
- The ruling was made under Decree-Law 54, a cybercrime law enacted in 2022.
- Boukrim, who founded the news website TUMEDIA, fled to Paris in December.
- Critics contend the law is increasingly used to prosecute government opponents and restrict free speech.
- President Kais Saied has been consolidating power since dissolving parliament in 2021.
A Tunisian court has sentenced prominent journalist Khaoula Boukrim to four years in prison in absentia, a ruling that critics say exemplifies a growing suppression of free speech under President Kais Saied. Boukrim, the founder of the news website TUMEDIA, fled to Paris in December after learning that legal cases were being prepared against her due to her critical stance towards the president and his associates. The sentence was issued under Decree-Law 54, a 2022 cybercrime law that rights groups argue is increasingly used to prosecute government critics and curtail freedom of expression, while authorities maintain it is necessary to combat misinformation.