Tunisian lawyer sentenced to two years in prison

Sonia Dahmani, a well-known Tunisian lawyer and vocal critic of President Kais Saied, has been sentenced to two years in prison for insulting her country, according to her lawyer.

The charges stem from comments Dahmani made during a local radio interview earlier this year, where she referred to Tunisia as a "racist country." These remarks came after incidents of clashes between migrants and residents. Her lawyer, Sami Ben Ghazi, confirmed the news to Reuters.

Dahmani has been incarcerated since May and was previously sentenced in September to eight months in prison for stating that Tunisia was not a good place to live.

In a recent election, President Saied secured a second term with 90% of the vote, defeating two other candidates one of whom is currently in prison. Critics of the election have described it as a sham.

Following the election, opponents of Saied have called for calm and urged the government to release political prisoners and journalists.

The president, who is accused of staging a coup by shutting down parliament and ruling by decree in 2021, stated after his victory that he would continue to combat what he labelled as "corrupt" and "traitorous" elements within the country.

In a related development, another court recently sentenced prominent opposition figure Noureddine Bhiri to ten years in prison for inciting disobedience.