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A court in Tunis on Wednesday sentenced two TV presenters to one year in prison for “spreading false news” and “defaming others” after making critical comments online and in the media, a court spokesman said.
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Broadcaster Boren Bousais and political commentator Murad Zegidi were arrested earlier this month. Decree 54, Law of 2022 Critics say it is being used to stifle political dissent.
The pair were sentenced to “six months in prison for using a communications network to create and spread false news and rumours with the intent to violate the rights of others and public safety,” court spokesman Mohamed Zitouna told AFP.
Zituna was also sentenced to six months in prison for “misusing communication networks to disseminate news containing false information with the aim of defaming others, damaging their reputation and causing material or moral harm.” was added.
Earlier in the day, Messrs. Bousais and Zegidi said they were just doing their jobs when they made comments deemed critical by authorities.
Decree 54 mandates a maximum five-year prison sentence for “producing, spreading or disseminating false news” using telecommunications networks with the intent to “harm” or “defame” others.
Zegidi said in February: journalistMohamed Bugareb is also in custody.
“My job as a political analyst is to talk about public issues,” Zegidi said during Wednesday’s hearing. “I am neither an opponent nor a supporter of the president.”
read moreTunisian lawyer calls for strike over arrest of colleague who made sarcastic jokes on TV
“I would like to know what sentences and words were found to be in violation of the criminal law,” he added.
Bousais arrested for attacking president Kai Said His lawyers say he did so through radio broadcasts and statements between 2019 and 2022.
“I’m the organizer, so I have to give all my opinions, regardless of direction,” he said at the hearing, adding that he was arrested as if he were a “dangerous criminal.”
Lawyers for both men strongly criticized Decree No. 54.
“When politics enters the courtroom, justice disappears,” said Kamel Masoud, Zegidi’s lawyer, who called the ruling “unconstitutional.”
Mr. Bousais’ lawyer, Khaled Klich, said there were other ways to respond to the criticism.
“The entire population is being prosecuted under Decree 54,” he said.
The law says more than 60 journalists, lawyers and opposition figures have been charged under the law since President Said signed it in 2022.Tunisian National Union of Journalists.
(AFP)
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“A court in Tunis on Wednesday sentenced two TV presenters to one year in prison for ‘spreading false news’ and ‘defaming others’ after making critical comments online and in the media.”
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Source link: https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20240522-tunisia-court-sentences-tv-pundits-to-prison-for-critical-commentary
