Tunisia: Chaima Issa Gets Suspended Jail Term for Offending President
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Sulaiman
- . December 14, 2023
- . Update: December 14, 2023 4:30 pm
The Tunis Military Court slapped Chaima Issa with a 12 month suspended prison sentence for offending Tunisian President Kais Saied. She was charged with inciting the army to disobey orders, spread false news and committing an offensive act against the president.
Issa said Saied’s opponents were being treated like criminals. “We are not criminals. We are not plotters. We are not traitors. We are politicians, opponents of the coup of July 25, 2021.” The 43-year-old was arrested in February 2023 as part of the government’s crackdown on opposition.
Prominent businessmen and members of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party were also arrested.
Who is Chaima Issa?
Chaima Issa is a member of the National Salvation Front coalition, a well-known writer and opposition figure. She was convicted of spreading false rumors under Article 24 of Decree Law 54; inciting the military to disobey orders under Article 81 of the Code of Military Justice; and committing an offensive act against the President under Article 67 of the Penal Code.
Fida Hammami, Amnesty International’s Tunisia Research and Advocacy Adviser, said Issa should not have been charged as she was simply peacefully exercising her right to freedom of expression. “Chaima Issa, much like dozens of other critics who are being judicially harassed or arbitrarily detained for months, is guilty of nothing more than questioning the decisions made by a government that, from the outset, has demonstrated an unwillingness to tolerate any form of dissent.”
Amnesty International said that the fact that Issa was tried by a military court only adds to the grave injustices she is facing since civilians should never be tried before military courts under international human rights law.
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President Saied has described critics, those detained, as terrorists and traitors. He warned that judges who release them would be abetting their crimes. The Tunisian regime has slapped political activists, opposition leaders and critics with bogus charges. In October, Tunisian authorities arrested Abir Moussi, an outspoken critic of President Saied and head of the Free Destourian Party (FDL).
Saied has also accused foreign media organizations of working for entities that want to overthrow his government. In May, he said anyone who questions freedoms in Tunisia, whether inside or outside the country, is either an agent or is living in a deep intellectual coma from which they will never wake up.
