TUNIS, 07 Nov. - (ANA) - Amnesty International has issued an urgent call for Tunisian authorities to release veteran journalist Zied el-Heni, after he was harassed and jailed earlier this year.

 

El-Heni, who is the editor of the independent news website Tunisian Press, was convicted on 27 October for four terror-related charges in connection to his work on a leaked 2023 audio recording attributed to former Ennahda official Mondher Louniss. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

 

The reporter is already facing a one-year sentence, where he was arrested on 24 April, in  a case involving a social media post he made which allegedly caused "harm to others".

 

In June, a judge also issued a detention order for his past work covering Carthage Municipal Council.

 

"The three cases against El-Heni demonstrate an alarming pattern of judicial harassment in which authorities repeatedly open new proceedings against a journalist already behind bars," Amnesty said in a joint statement signed by sixteen other organisations.

 

Signatories included Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), MENA Rights Group, and independent Tunisian news outlet Inkyfada.

 

The statement called on Tunisian Authorities to release and overturn all convictions against the journalist, as well as drop all pending charges against him. It also called on Tunisia to end the use of criminal and counter-terror laws to silence journalists.

 

 

 

 

The cases against El-Heni are part of a wider crackdown on journalists in Tunisia. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) listed Tunisia 137th of 180 countries in its 2026 Press Freedom Index. 

 

The designation leaves Tunisia eight places behind since the 2025 index.

 

"The prosecution of El-Heni comes amid a broader deterioration in press freedom in Tunisia, where journalists have increasingly faced imprisonment, prosecution, and lengthy sentences for their reporting and commentary," Amnesty said in their statement.

 

"The use of terrorism-related charges against journalistic activity is particularly alarming and risks further chilling independent reporting in the country."

 

In September, three journalists from the independent new website Nawaat were detained by police for almost two hours in Tunis.

 

CPJ reported that a female photojournalist from the group was verbally abused and harassed for her reporting of that month's protests in support of imprisoned activists from the Sumud Flotilla.

 

Upon coming to power in 2019, Tunisian President Kais Saied barred journalists from reporting in the Presidential Palace. RSF say supporters of Saied have particularly dominated the country's media since 2021, while authorities have pressured dissenting journalists to conform to official narratives. - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/07 November 2026 - - -