Tunisian inmate punished for refusing to watch President

An inmate in Gafsa prison was sentenced to six additional months for refusing to watch televised coverage of President Kais Saied, AFP reported, citing a government statement and the Tunisian League for Human Rights.

The man allegedly demanded the TV channel be changed during a news segment featuring Saied and insulted the president, whom he blamed for a deportation deal with Italy. He had previously lived there without documentation before being returned to Tunisia. A cellmate reported the incident, triggering charges under Article 67 of the penal code, which covers offenses against the head of state. Authorities later revised the charge to “violating public decency” to avoid overt political overtones, according to his lawyer, Adel Sghaier.

The rights group condemned the sentence as part of a growing pattern of repression, saying Tunisia’s crackdown on dissent now reaches behind prison walls. Saied, who has ruled by decree since his 2021 power grab, faces increasing criticism over shrinking civic freedoms.