New York, February 7, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of journalist Chadha Hadj Mbarek after a Tunisian court sentenced her to five years in prison on Wednesday. Another journalist, freelancer Chahrazad Akacha, was sentenced to 27 years in absentia.
“The sentencing of journalists Chadha Hadj Mbarek and Chahrazad Akacha is a clear example of how the Tunisian government is using judicial harassment to crush press freedom and independent journalism,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “Tunisian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Mbarek and ensure that journalists and media workers can work freely without fear of reprisal.”
A Tunis court convicted Akacha and Mbarek, a journalist and a social media content editor at local independent content firm Instalingo, of “conspiring against state security” and “committing an offense against the President of the Republic.”
Mbarek and Akacha, who has fled the country, were among the 41 people prosecuted in connection with their work at Instalingo since September 2021 following accusations that Instalingo was hired by members of the Ennahda opposition party to distribute content critical of President Kais Saied’s government. All were convicted on anti-state charges and handed long prison sentences on February 5.
Mbarek, in jail at the time of her sentencing, was initially arrested at her home in the city of Sousse on October 5, 2021, on anti-state charges. A judge dismissed the case and Mbarek’s charges on June 19, 2023, ordering her release, but she was arrested again after the state prosecutor filed an appeal.
According to CPJ’s December 1, 2024 census there are at least five journalists behind bars in Tunisia, the highest number since 1992.
CPJ’s email to the presidency requesting comment on Mbarek and Akacha’s sentences did not receive any reply.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
CPJ Staff | Radio Free (2025-02-07T23:36:16+00:00) Tunisian journalist Chadha Hadj Mbarek sentenced to 5 years in prison . Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/02/07/tunisian-journalist-chadha-hadj-mbarek-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison/
Please log in to upload a file.
There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.