Tunisian journalist Zied el-Heni was arrested on April 24, 2026, over a social media post criticizing a judicial decision in the case of journalist Ghassen Ben Khelifa, who was sentenced in March 2026 to two years in prison. El-Heni was placed in pretrial detention.
On April 23, El-Heni, editor-in-chief of independent news site Tunisian Press, said on his Facebook page that he had received a summons to appear the following morning at the headquarters of the Fifth Central Unit for Combating Information and Communication Technology Crime in the capital Tunis. He complied and was detained the next day. His trial is scheduled to start on April 30, 2026, according to a local journalist who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
Authorities are investigating El-Heni under Article 86 of the telecommunications code, which carries penalties of up to two years in prison for offenses related to disrupting public communication networks or harming others via telecommunications.
El-Heni has faced repeated judicial harassment and detentions in recent years, often linked to his public commentary and online expression. In 2023, he was arrested twice over political commentary on the online radio show “Émission Impossible” on the independent radio station IFM. On June 20, 2023, he was detained for two nights for allegedly insulting President Kais Saied. On December 28, 2023, he was re-arrested for criticizing the performance of Minister of Commerce Kalthoum Ben Rejeb on the same show.
El Heni was released on January 10, 2024, and later handed a six-month prison sentence, the enforcement of which was postponed. However, the sentence remains in effect and can be carried out at any time, according to the journalist who spoke with CPJ anonymously.
El-Heni is being held in Mornaguia prison in Tunis. His detention comes amid a broader pattern of increasing legal action against journalists, bloggers, and commentators in Tunisia, particularly over digital content.
CPJ emailed the Tunisian presidency for comment on El-Heni’s case but did not receive a response.