*Update: On 7 October 2025 Saber Chouchen was granted a presidential pardon and was unexpectedly released.
Responding to the death sentence handed down by the Nabeul Court of First Instance.to 56-year-old Saber Chouchen for his Facebook posts, including criticism of the president and calls for a public protest, Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International said:
“This verdict, which sentences a man to death for peaceful dissent on Facebook, represents a significant escalation and an outrageous assault on human rights. The Tunisian authorities must immediately quash Saber Chouchen’s conviction and release him without delay.
“The use of capital punishment in this case is a stark and horrifying illustration of a government weaponizing the justice system to crush freedom of expression and the slightest sign of dissent. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment and must never be used under any circumstances, let alone to silence critics for merely expressing their opinion online.
The use of capital punishment in this case is a stark and horrifying illustration of a government weaponizing the justice system to crush freedom of expression and the slightest sign of dissent.
Heba Morayef, MENA Regional Director
“The unfounded charges of attempting to overthrow the state and inciting chaos, which were based on social media posts in which Saber Chouchen criticized the Tunisian president, calling for political change and urging a protest, expose the government’s escalating reliance on repressive laws like Article 72 of the Penal Code and Decree-Law 54 to silence critics. Criminal law has become the primary tool in an unrelenting campaign to criminalize all forms of public and peaceful dissent. This death sentence and conviction must be overturned, and all convictions and sentences based solely on the peaceful exercise of human rights must be immediately reviewed and quashed”
“Tunisia must follow the example of the majority of the world’s countries and swiftly abolish the death penalty and commute all death sentences. There is no evidence that it has a unique deterrent effect on crime and, as seen today, can be used as a tool in the state weaponry of repression. It must be immediately removed from the law books”.
As of today, 113 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and close to three quarters of all countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally, in all cases and under any circumstances.
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