Tunisia Adds 2 More Years to Jailed Commentator Sonia Dahmani's Sentence

Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi (file photo).

New York — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of Tunisian media commentator Sonia Dahmani, who was sentenced on June 30 to an additional two years in prison for condemning racism in the country, a crime for which she is already serving jail time.

Dahmani's lawyers withdrew from Monday's trial to protest that the court was illegally trying her twice for the same act, the journalist's sister, Ramla Dahmani, told CPJ, referring to the legal principle of double jeopardy.

"Handing Tunisian lawyer and media commentator Sonia Dahmani an additional two-year sentence, on top of her existing term for the same media commentary, is not only harsh, but appears to be a targeted effort to silence her personally," said CPJ Chief Programs Officer Carlos Martínez de la Serna. "Tunisian authorities must drop all charges against Dahmani and ensure that journalists can make political commentary without being targeted."

In October 2024, Dahman, who is also a prominent lawyer, received a two-year sentence under Decree 54 on cybercrime on charges of spreading "false" news for commenting on the local independent radio station IFM about the mistreatment of sub-Saharan Africans in Tunisia.

The court said that the second sentence on June 30 was for her comments to a second outlet, the television channel Carthage Plus.

In September 2024, Dahmani was given an eight-month sentence following her May arrest over separate comments she made on Carthage Plus, where she criticized Tunisia's living conditions and discussed immigration.

Her case is widely seen as part of a broader crackdown on journalists, opposition figures, and government critics that has intensified since President Kais Saied suspended parliament in 2021 and introduced a new constitution, giving himself nearly unchecked power.

According to CPJ's latest annual prison census, at least five journalists were behind bars in Tunisia on December 1, 2024, the highest number since 1992.

CPJ's email to the Presidency requesting comment did not receive any reply.

Read the original article on CPJ.

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