A lawyer said today (Tuesday) that a Tunisian court released a man who was sentenced to death last week, due to publications on Facebook, in which President Qais Saeed criticized, following a wave of extensive criticism, so he was judged.
Lawyer Osama Bouteghaja told Reuters that his client, Saber Shoshan, was released, while Jamal Shoshan confirmed that his brother Saber is free, and he is in the family’s home now, without providing more details.
The death sentence, which was issued last week, was unprecedented in the issues of freedom of expression online. Civil society organizations and activists described the death sentence as shocking, and sparked a wave of criticism and ridicule on social media among activists.
Since Said, the elected parliament has dissolved 4 years ago, and the ruling began with decrees, Tunisia has been facing increasing criticism by human rights groups, regarding the erosion of the independence of the judiciary. The opposition described Saeed’s control of power as a coup, which was denied by President Saeed, who says his steps were legal, and aims to end the rampant corruption.
Since then, Tunisian and international non -governmental organizations express their regret for the decline in rights and freedoms in the country, which is a cradle for the “Arab Spring”, while the opposition has been criticizing the president and the judiciary that it describes as “eliminating instructions.”
But President Said repeats that the judiciary is independent; Stressing that he does not interfere in his decisions, and that freedoms in the country are guaranteed.
The Organization for the Committee for Freedoms and Human Rights in Tunisia denounced the death sentence that was issued against Shoshan, a father of three children, considering that “the regime has reached unprecedented levels of human rights violations, especially the right to freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial.”
And there is no details in the law of the lawyer until the court’s decision to release his client, and he is waiting for more information from the relevant authorities. Bouteghaja explained that the last procedure he made as a lawyer is to “submit an appeal request on Friday.”
It is noteworthy that the Tunisian judiciary issues death sentences; Especially in cases related to the implementation of “terrorist” attacks, but the authorities have stopped the implementation of these provisions since 1991.
