News|Human RightsTunisia pardons man sentenced to death over Facebook postsSaber Ben Chouchane, who was given the death penalty over posts insulting President Kais Saied, is released.
## Presidential Pardon and Release of Tunisian Citizen
Presidential Pardon and Release of Tunisian Citizen
A Tunisian individual, Saber Ben Chouchane, who had been sentenced to death for social media posts deemed offensive to President Kais Saied, has been released following a presidential pardon. His lawyer, Oussama Bouthelja, confirmed the release and stated that Ben Chouchane is now at home with his family.
Ben Chouchane was arrested in January 2024 and subsequently sentenced to death by a court in Nabeul. The charges included insulting the president, the minister of justice, and the judiciary, as well as spreading false news and incitement through social media posts. An appeal against the sentence was initially filed but later withdrawn, facilitating the presidential pardon.
Rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have criticized the death sentence as indicative of escalating repression and restrictions on freedom of expression in Tunisia. The case has been described as a significant escalation in the use of capital punishment to suppress dissent.
A Tunisian individual, Saber Ben Chouchane, who had been sentenced to death for social media posts deemed offensive to President Kais Saied, has been released following a presidential pardon.
Since President Saied's assumption of power in 2021, following the dissolution of Tunisia's elected parliament, there have been concerns regarding a decline in judicial independence and freedoms. A law enacted in September 2022, criminalizing the spread of false news, has been particularly contentious, with numerous prosecutions reported under its provisions.
Based on reporting by Al Jazeera.
