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Tunisian Court Sentences Lawyer Sonia Dahmani to Two Years in Prison
A Tunis court sentenced lawyer and columnist Sonia Dahmani to two years in jail on Friday for comments about prison conditions. The verdict marks her third conviction this year under a 2022 decree on false information.
May 25, 1:39 PM·1m read1 source
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A Tunis court sentenced lawyer and columnist Sonia Dahmani to two years in prison on Friday for statements made in a 2023 radio interview about prison conditions. Lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi told AFP that the Tunis Court of First Instance issued the verdict after a hearing on Friday. Dahmani’s legal team has lodged an appeal.
The 60-year-old Dahmani was previously sentenced to 18 months in May 2024 for a remark on television questioning why migrants would settle in Tunisia during an economic crisis. An appeals court added another 18 months in April for comments about cemeteries and buses reserved for Black people.
Dahmani faces five separate prosecutions, all based on media statements and filed under Decree 54, a 2022 law on false information.
Masked police officers arrested Dahmani in May 2024 at the headquarters of the Bar Association. She was released on conditional parole in November 2024 after more than 18 months in detention. Human rights organizations have documented an increase in legal actions against lawyers, journalists, and activists since July 2021 under Decree 54 and anti-terrorism statutes.
