TUNIS: A Tunisian appeals court on Tuesday upheld the three-and-a-half-year prison sentences of two prominent journalists jailed for alleged financial crimes, according to their lawyer.
The journalists, Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies, were sentenced in January for money laundering and tax evasion — accusations they denied.
“We’re very disappointed by this verdict,” defense lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi told AFP.
Since President Kais Saied staged a sweeping power grab in 2021, rights groups have denounced a regression in freedoms in Tunisia. Dozens of Saied’s critics are currently behind bars.
The case against Zeghidi and Bsaies has been condemned by media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as “judicial harassment.”
RSF said ahead of Tuesday’s hearing that the charges against them lacked evidence.
Ben Ghazi argued in court that prosecutors had simply presumed his clients were “rich and possessed property” they were hiding, improperly accusing them of money laundering after deeming their tax payments too low.
“But unfortunately, we have to talk about their lack of resources in order to defend them,” the defense lawyer added.
The judge questioned Zeghidi about his company, payments received for television and radio appearances, and bank transfers received in Tunisia and from abroad, an AFP journalist reported.
Bsaies was questioned about leaving his job as a teacher and about how his wife financed the launch of a private school.
“After 23 months of investigation, no serious evidence has been established: no suspicious transactions, no hidden assets, no credible proof,” RSF regional director Oussama Bouagila said in a statement.
“This judicial harassment must not obscure the essential point: it is their journalistic work that lies behind these prosecutions.”
In a separate case, another prominent journalist, Zied el-Heni, was sentenced last week to one year in prison for “offending others” after criticizing the cases against Zeghidi and Bsaies.
