Tunisian lawyer Sonia Dahmani was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison by the Tunis Court of First Instance. This new sentence is related to statements she made in 2023 about prison conditions in Tunisia.
The case stems from a complaint filed by the General Administration of Prisons. According to the defense, the authorities are accusing the lawyer of making critical remarks during a radio interview.
Sonia Dahmani had already been convicted several times in recent years for public statements and media publications. The sentences handed down to her ranged from one to two years in prison.
She was notably prosecuted for denouncing racism in Tunisia, making light of the situation of sub-Saharan migrants, and criticizing the existence of cemeteries and buses reserved for black people in certain regions of the country.
Arrested in May 2024 while participating in a television program, the lawyer spent more than 18 months in detention before being released on parole last November.
Her lawyer announced that he had appealed this new conviction, the fifth against Sonia Dahmani.
The lawyer is being prosecuted under Decree 54 on "false information," a law regularly denounced by human rights organizations, which accuse Tunisian authorities of using it against journalists, opponents, and activists.
