Mourad Zeghidi, a Tunisian-French politics and sports commentator who has been Imprisoned for more than two years for his journalistic work, began a hunger strike on 4 June in protest against the new, three-and-a-half-year prison sentence he received on appeal on 12 May. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates its call for an expedited review of his appeal to the Court of Cassation and for his release.
The campaign for Mourad Zeghidi's release continues to grow. This renowned reporter and commentator for Tunisia’s Radio IFM, who used to report for the French television channel Canal+, is the victim of judicial harassment. Jailed since 11 May 2024 along with his Radio IFM colleague Borhen Bsaies, he was not released when he completed his sentence for “spreading false news” and is now convicted of “money laundering.”
“Just hours before the World Cup, Tunisians will be deprived of the voice of the man who knows better than anyone how to analyse and comment on football. Mourad Zeghidi has no business being behind bars. He is being detained for his journalistic work, the victim of judicial harassment that seems more like an attempt to silence an independent voice than a standard judicial procedure. RSF calls on the Tunisian authorities to expedite his appeal to the Court of Cassation and to end his wrongful detention.”
In a letter that his lawyer, Ghazi Mrabet, sent on 8 June from Mornaguia civil prison, located to the west of the capital, Tunis, Mourad Zeghidi describes the appeal court decision to uphold his conviction as “a violent shock.” “Even in the most pessimistic scenarios, we never imagined a decision of such severity,” he wrote.
Mourad Zeghidi firmly denies the money laundering charges. “Ever since this case was initiated in February 2024, no evidence, no indication whatsoever, has been presented to establish any money laundering,” he says, describing the matter as a mere tax dispute which, in his view, almost never leads to a prison sentence. He believes that his case transcends his personal situation and that these court decisions “raise profound questions” about “the state of individual and public freedoms” in Tunisia.
It was against this backdrop that he announced he had begun a hunger strike, which, in his words, is “a cry of anger, a protest and a plea for help, whose echo I hope will reach Tunisia and beyond its borders.”
His family, who described his decision to go on a hunger strike as “painful and fraught with consequences,” expressed their deep concern for his health while reaffirming their unwavering support. His daughter Inès and his sister Meriem, along with activists and human rights defenders, have begun a hunger strike in solidarity.
Mourad Zeghidi’s imprisonment is part of a growing climate of pressure on Tunisian media, which includes the misuse of Decree-Law No. 54, the suspension or harassment of independent media outlets, and the judicial harassment of Mourad Zeghidi, Borhen Bsaies and Zied El Heni. Tunisia is ranked 137th out of 180 countries and territories in RSF’s 2026 World Press Freedom Index.
