Mon Jun 30 20:37:48 UTC 2025: **FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

**Tunisian Lawyer and Saied Critic Sonia Dhamani Sentenced to Two Years in Jail**

**TUNIS, TUNISIA** – Sonia Dhamani, a prominent Tunisian lawyer and vocal critic of President Kais Saied, has been sentenced to two years in prison for statements criticizing the government’s treatment of refugees and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. The sentence, handed down by a Tunisian court, has been condemned by human rights groups as a further sign of a deepening crackdown on dissent in the North African nation.

Dhamani’s lawyers withdrew from the trial, alleging she was being tried twice for the same act after the judge refused to adjourn the session. “What’s happening is a farce. Sonia is being tried twice for the same statement,” stated Sami Ben Ghazi, one of Dhamani’s lawyers.

Dhamani was arrested last year following television comments questioning the government’s stance on undocumented African refugees and migrants. The case was brought under Tunisia’s controversial cybercrime law, Decree 54, which has been widely criticized for its restrictive application.

The sentencing comes amid increasing concerns about the erosion of democratic freedoms in Tunisia since President Saied seized broad powers in 2021, dissolving parliament and ruling by decree. Opposition figures, journalists, and critics of Saied have faced arrest and imprisonment. Saied claims his actions are necessary to end corruption and chaos, but critics argue he is consolidating power and transforming Tunisia into an “open-air prison.”

This case follows a mass trial earlier this year in which dozens of defendants, including leaders from the Ennahda party, received lengthy prison sentences. Critics have decried the trial as politically motivated.

Tunisia was once hailed as the sole democratic success story of the 2011 Arab Spring, but Saied’s actions have reversed the gains made since the revolution. The international community is watching closely as Tunisia’s democratic institutions are dismantled and fundamental freedoms are suppressed.

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