Tunisia Replaces First-Offence Prison Terms Under Decree 54 With Fines

Tunisia has amended its controversial cybercrime Decree 54, replacing a previous five-year prison sentence for a first offence involving the spread of “false news” with a fine of between 10,000 and 20,000 Tunisian dinars.

The amendment took effect on Wednesday. Repeat offenders may still be sentenced to prison, leaving rights and media freedom advocates concerned that the changes do not address the wider use of the decree against journalists, activists and political opponents.

Critics say core concerns remain

Decree 54 was issued by President Kais Saied in September 2022 and made it an offence to spread alleged false information by electronic means. Before the amendment, the law covered allegedly false information, altered content, personal data and untrue allegations said to incite hatred, encourage attacks, defame people, damage reputations or cause material or moral harm.

Said Benarbia, the Middle East and North Africa director of the International Commission of Jurists, described the reduction in penalties as a “positive development”. However, he also called for an end to abusive prosecutions and the release of people he said had been arbitrarily detained under the decree.

Benarbia previously described Decree 54 as “one of the potent tools of oppression used by the government to crush dissent, crack down on civic space and arbitrarily restrict the freedom of expression in the country”.

Rafik Abdessalem, a former Tunisian foreign minister and senior Ennahdha figure, said the law had been used “to silence every voice critical of the regime”. Assessing the amendment, he said: “In short, the punishment has been reduced, but its repressive and punitive character remains unchanged.”

Journalists among those prosecuted

The National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists said hundreds of journalists, bloggers, opposition politicians, lawyers and activists had been tried under the decree since 2022. The union recorded 14 journalist prosecutions between April 2025 and April 2026, including six cases brought under Decree 54.

Sonia Dahmani, a prominent lawyer and columnist, has been charged under the decree in five cases. She received a two-year sentence after criticising conditions in Tunisian prisons during a radio interview in May, and had earlier been sentenced to 18 months after criticising Saied’s policies in 2024.

Saber Ben Chouchane was sentenced to death after being charged under several censorship laws, including Decree 54, over Facebook posts. He later received a presidential pardon.

Lotfi Hajji, head of Al Jazeera’s bureau in Tunisia, said civil society groups and the journalists’ union wanted Decree 54 repealed altogether. They have called for journalists to be judged instead under Tunisia’s 2011 press freedom law, which Hajji described as one of the main gains of the country’s revolution.

Government defends the decree

The Tunisian government has defended Decree 54, saying it protects people and public order from attack and is necessary to tackle online crime and disinformation.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the European Parliament are among the international critics of the law. The European Parliament has called for its repeal, describing it as “a tool to interfere with fundamental freedoms”.

Civil society groups led by Tunisia’s largest labour union announced plans for a nationwide march over restrictions on civil liberties shortly before the amendment took effect.

Critics link Decree 54 to what they describe as democratic backsliding since Saied suspended parliament, dismissed the government and began ruling by presidential decree in 2021. Saied rejects accusations of autocratic rule and says his actions are legal and necessary to end disorder and alleged corruption.