Uproar as prominent Tunisian activist gets suspended jail term

Political and human rights groups have criticised the sentencing of prominent Tunisian activist and opposition figure Chaima Issa by a military court.

The court on Wednesday handed Issa a one-year suspended prison sentence for offending Tunisia's President Kais Saied.

She was also found guilty of spreading rumours to harm public security and inciting soldiers to disobey orders, the AFP news agency reported, citing Issa's lawyer Dalila Ben Mbarek.

Amnesty International has termed Issa's conviction "outrageous", adding that "her case was brought by an increasingly repressive government that will stop at nothing to silence voices of dissent".

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Issa's party, The National Salvation Front, have also criticised Issa's trial and sentencing by a military court, even though she is a civilian.

"Tunisian authorities should immediately stop prosecuting activists simply for criticising President Kais Saied's power grab and unjustly trying civilians before military courts," Human Rights Watch said.

President Saied has been accused of authoritarian practices including cracking down on dissenters since he dissolved parliament and the government in 2021, granting himself more powers.