Tunisian journalist gets 6 months in prison for insulting official as government cracks down on critical media

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 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. Lawyers for Boughalleb, 60, denounced the sentence as 'an assault on freedom of expression' and raised questions about its political nature.

Journalists critical of the government are one of many groups that have seen their civil liberties restricted in Tunisia. More than 20 activists and politicians critical of Saied have been behind bars for more than a year, charged with plotting against state security in cases their advocates have denounced as politicized.

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