Tunisian authorities have sentenced two political opposition activists to jail phrases for criticizing the federal government underneath a 2022 cybercrime decree, Human Rights Watch stated as we speak. As an alternative of utilizing the decree to handle cybercrime, the authorities have used it to detain, cost, or place underneath investigation not less than 20 journalists, legal professionals, college students, and different critics for his or her public statements on-line or within the media.
Chaima Issa, a outstanding determine of the opposition coalition Nationwide Salvation Entrance (NSF), and Sofiane Zneidi, a member of Tunisia’s largest opposition celebration, Ennahda, had been sentenced on December 11 and 13, respectively, apparently the primary two individuals sentenced underneath the decree. President Kais Saied issued Decree-Legislation no. 2022-54 on Combating Crimes Associated to Info and Communication Programs on September 13, 2022, as a part of the consolidation of his autocratic rule since he took workplace in July 2021. The authorities ought to repeal this repressive decree, launch these held underneath it, and drop all prosecutions for peaceable expression, Human Rights Watch stated.
“Within the yr for the reason that president issued his cybercrime regulation, the Tunisian authorities have used it to stifle and intimidate a variety of critics, whereas utilizing different legal guidelines to detain a few of Saied’s most severe political adversaries on doubtful conspiracy prices,” stated Salsabil Chellali, Tunisia director at Human Rights Watch. “Tunisia ought to instantly launch anybody detained for his or her peaceable expression, drop all prices, and repeal Decree-Legislation 54.”
Decree-Legislation 54, which goals formally at “stopping and prosecuting offenses referring to data and communication programs” and setting forth provisions for authorities to “acquire digital proof,” introduces harsh sentences for broadly and vaguely outlined speech offenses, resembling “spreading false data.” Since February, authorities have intensified their crackdown on critics throughout the political spectrum. Greater than 40 individuals have been arbitrarily detained for his or her peaceable activism or expression, totally on “conspiracy” or doubtful terrorism-related prices. Virtually all of them have been held for months, some over a yr, in pretrial detention.
The authorities have been counting on the cybercrime decree’s Article 24, which supplies for a high-quality of as much as TND 50,000 (about US$16,000) and 5 years in jail for utilizing communication networks to “produce, unfold, disseminate … false information, information, rumors” to “slander others, tarnish their popularity, financially or morally hurt them, incite assaults towards [them] or incite hate speech,” “violate [their] rights,” “hurt public safety or nationwide protection, or unfold terror.” The jail sentence is doubled if the offense is deemed to focus on a “public official or equal.”
On December 11, the Jendouba First Occasion Courtroom sentenced Zneidi, 63, to eight months in jail and a TND 5,000 (about $1,630) high-quality underneath Article 24, an individual conversant in the file advised Human Rights Watch. Zneidi, who has been in Bulla Regia jail in Jendouba governorate, has been detained since April 18, 2023. That day, Nationwide Guard officers arrested him at his residence within the northwestern metropolis of Tabarka for Fb posts in assist of Ennahda President Rached Ghannouchi after Ghannouchi was arrested on April 17, Zineb Brahmi, the celebration’s major lawyer, advised Human Rights Watch.
Through the investigation, the judicial police and later an investigative decide questioned Zneidi about his political affiliation and the “motives” behind his posts, which Zneidi rapidly deleted, in response to the individual conversant in the file. In a single submit, Zneidi condemned Ghannouchi’s arrest and in one other included a video clip of Ghannouchi warning that alienating opposition political actions was a “recipe for civil battle.”
The decide additionally initially accused Zneidi of “insulting the president” underneath Article 67 of the Penal Code, though the president was neither named nor clearly designated in Zneidi’s posts, the identical supply stated. Ghannouchi’s video confirmed him making the remarks for which he himself was detained on April 20 and will face the demise penalty on prices of making an attempt to “change the character of the state.”
On December 13, a navy courtroom sentenced Issa to a one-year suspended jail time period, together with two months underneath Article 24 of Decree-Legislation 54, six months for “inciting the military to disobey orders” underneath Article 81 of the Navy Justice Code, and 4 months for “insulting the president,” in response to her lawyer Dalila Msaddak, for feedback Issa made throughout an interview in December 2022 on radio station IFM concerning the navy’s function since Saied’s energy seize. The judicial proceedings had been initiated in January following a criticism by former Inside Minister Taoufik Charfeddine.
Attempting Issa, a civilian, earlier than a navy courtroom is opposite to worldwide requirements on the best to a good trial which strictly prohibit governments from utilizing navy courts to strive civilians when civilian courts can nonetheless operate. In a separate case, Issa was arbitrarily detained in February for “conspiracy towards state safety” and conditionally launched in July, pending trial.
Beside Zneidi, not less than two different individuals had been detained primarily based on Article 24. Mohamed Zantour, a 26-year-old Ennahda supporter, was detained from April 26 to July 21 for Fb posts, together with posts he later took down, that criticized Saied, supported Ghannouchi, and denounced police brutality, his lawyer Zouheir Belhaj Amor advised Human Rights Watch.
On July 21, the Sousse First Occasion Courtroom gave Zantour a suspended jail sentence of six months for “harming third events by way of public telecommunications networks” underneath Article 86 of the Telecommunications Code and ordered his launch, dropping the costs associated to Decree-Legislation 54, Belhaj Amor stated.
Yassine Romdhani, a journalist for radio station Sabra FM, was detained from October 3 to December 1 and charged by an investigative decide within the Kairouan First Occasion Courtroom for an August Fb submit criticizing Charfeddine, primarily based on a criticism by the latter. Romdhani is provisionally free pending his trial, his lawyer Magda Mastour advised Human Rights Watch.
At the least six different individuals are being prosecuted underneath the identical laws, together with Ghazi Chaouachi, Ayachi Hammami, Islem Hamza, and Dalila Msaddak, all legal professionals; Borhen Bsaies, of IFM Radio and likewise a Hannibal TV host; and Sami Ben Slama, a former elections fee member.
At the least 12 others are underneath police investigation in separate instances. They’re Mehdi Zagrouba, a lawyer; Jawhar Ben Mbarek, an NSF chief; Nizar Bahloul, Monia Arfaoui, Amine Dhbaibi, Haythem El Mekki, Elyes Gharbi and Mohamed Boughalleb, all journalists; Ahmed Hamada and Yahya Shili, college students; Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer and media determine; and Zaki Rahmouni, a former elections fee member.
Many of the 22 instances Human Rights Watch documented had been initiated on the premise of complaints filed by authorities officers or entities. Justice Minister Leila Jaffel filed not less than 5 complaints, Spiritual Affairs Minister Brahim Chaibi filed three, Charfeddine filed two, the Jail Normal Authority filed two, and a police union filed two.
In violation of the best to privateness, Decree-Legislation 54 additionally requires telecommunications corporations to systematically retailer information on customers’ id, telecommunications site visitors, and metadata for not less than two years (Article 6), and empowers the authorities, upon a judicial order, to grab private units, observe people, and intercept their communications to “unveil the reality” (Article 9).
Tunisia had been looking for to undertake a complete cybercrime regulation since not less than 2015. Though Decree-Legislation 54 was formally launched as fulfilling this goal, it has largely expanded the definition of felony offenses and toughened sanctions to limit essential on-line expression, breaching worldwide requirements on freedom of expression.
The authorities additionally proceed to depend on repressive Penal and Telecommunications Codes provisions to criminalize peaceable speech.
“Saied and his authorities might have issued this laws to make our on-line world and its customers safer, however as an alternative, they instrumentalized Decree-Legislation 54 to curb Tunisians’ rights,” Chellali stated. “Beneath such a decree, no critic of the authorities can really feel protected.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
