Court of Appeal upholds Rached Khiari’s 8-month prison sentence in digital content cases
Tunis, February 12, 2025 – The Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Tunis upheld the 8-month prison sentence issued against former member of the dissolved parliament, Rached Khiari, in two cases related to insulting others via social media. This decision is part of a series of legal prosecutions targeting Khiari for several years.
Details of the issued sentences
Rached Khiari appeared before the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Tunis on bail in this case, but he remains detained pending other cases. After reviewing the file and conducting legal negotiations, the court issued the following sentences:
Six months in prison in the first case.
Two months in prison in the second case.
From the initial ruling to the confirmation of the conviction on appeal
This ruling comes after an initial conviction issued by the Sixth Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Tunis on February 4, 2025, where the court ruled at the time to imprison Khiari for one year. The sentence was reduced on appeal to 8 months, which his lawyers considered a continuation of the series of systematic judicial pressure against him.
Political background and ongoing prosecutions
Rached Khiari has been subjected to successive judicial prosecutions since his arrest on August 3, 2021, where he faced political charges, including:
Insulting the army and conspiring against state security, after his statements about the presence of a US military base in the Sidi Hamad area of Bizerte Governorate.
Promoting allegations that President Kais Saied received foreign funding from the United States during the 2019 presidential elections, accusations that sparked widespread political controversy at the time.
Offending others via social media, where he was previously sentenced to 8 months in prison in October 2022, and another sentence in September 2022 to 6 months in prison with a fine of 1,000 dinars, for publishing photos of students inside an institute for the blind in Ben Arous.
In August 2024, after the end of his sentence, Khiari was released from Rabta prison, but he was re-arrested by security officers and detained at a security headquarters, before being imprisoned to implement an appeal ruling issued in an old case filed against him by media figure Hamza Balloumi, which reinforced suspicions about the judiciary being used for political purposes.
Deteriorating health and denial of treatment
His lawyers confirmed that his health had deteriorated sharply during his imprisonment, as he showed symptoms indicating that he had cancer. Despite demands to provide him with the necessary medical care, the authorities ignored these demands, which led to the deterioration of his health amid reports of his being subjected to ill-treatment and medical neglect inside prison.
Comment by the Freedom for Tunisia Observatory
The Freedom for Tunisia Observatory expresses its deep concern about the ongoing legal proceedings against Rached Khiari, especially in light of the deterioration of his health. It stresses that these measures are retaliatory in nature, given his public opposition to President Kais Saied, and his journalistic work on the file of financing his electoral campaign.
The Observatory calls for:
The immediate release of Rached Khiari, given his critical health condition.
Ensuring that he receives the necessary medical care, in accordance with international human rights standards.
Ensuring a fair trial, free from any political or retaliatory motives, and stopping the ongoing prosecutions against him.
