Tunisian journalist sentenced to 6 months in prison for insulting an official
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A judge in Tunisia sentenced a journalist and political commentator to six months in prison in the country’s latest assault on members of the media who criticize the government.
Mohamed Boughalleb, who had been charged with insulting a public official, was sentenced Wednesday and will remain behind bars, where he has been since his arrest last month after an official lodged a complaint against him.
The official alleged he was harmed by Boughalleb’s commentary linking him to corruption and misuse of public funds.
The complaint from a member of Tunisia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs came after Boughalleb on Facebook questioned trips abroad that the civil servant made with the minister and called them a “waste of public funds.”
He was subsequently charged with violating defamation laws in Tunisia’s penal and telecommunications code.