Tunisia: Judicial harassment of Zied El-Heni continues with four-year prison sentence in grossly unjust ruling

Zied El-Heni faced up to 20 years in prison. He was sentenced to four years for "forming a terrorist conspiracy" and "failing to report a terrorist offence".

The case stems from a broadcast on Radio IFM on 7 September 2023, during which the journalist discussed leaked recordings attributed to Mondher Ounissi, former acting leader of the Ennahdha party, explaining that he had contacted those concerned to verify their authenticity. Initially summoned as a witness, he was subsequently questioned as a suspect after investigators discovered an email on his phone that he had received in the course of his journalistic work.

Zied El-Heni appeared by video link from Mornaguia prison, south-west of the capital, Tunis, after the court refused to allow him to appear in person, according to his defence team. Following a technical problem lasting more than an hour, he was unable even to hear the lawyers' submissions or the exchanges in the courtroom, his defence team said. He announced that he would not appeal, denouncing a "judicial scandal" and reiterating that "journalism is not a crime". His daughter, Ithar El-Heni, echoed his words in comments to RSF: "After more than 30 years in journalism, my father is now being labelled a terrorist for doing his job, for remaining independent, for protecting his sources. A journalist doing their job is not a criminal, let alone a terrorist."

Zied El-Heni has been in prison since June, serving sentences totalling 18 months. This comprises a one-year prison term, upheld on appeal on 26 June, for defending his fellow journalist at Mosaïque FM, Khalifa Guesmi, together with a six-month suspended prison sentence handed down in January 2024 for criticism of the trade minister, which became enforceable following his conviction in June.

Tunisia ranks 137th out of 180 countries and territories in RSF's 2026 World Press Freedom Index.