A court in Tunisia has decided that man who criticized President Kais Saied would be served the death penalty; setting a new human rights record in the country where restrictions on free speech have been tightened since the president seized almost all powers in 2021.

Fifty-six-year-old day labourer, Saber Chouchane, is a Tunisian citizen with limited education who was simply writing posts critical of the president before his arrest last year.

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His attorney, Oussama Bouthalja, who has appealed the judgment, said ‘The judge in the Nabeul court sentenced the man to death over Facebook posts. It is a shocking and unprecedented ruling.’

Though courts have occasionally handed down death sentences in Tunisia, none have been carried out for more than three decades.

Saber’s brother, Jamal Chouchane, said: ‘We can’t believe it. We are a family suffering from poverty, and now oppression and injustice have been added to poverty.’

The sentence immediately sparked a wave of criticism and ridicule on social media among activists and ordinary Tunisians.

Many described the ruling as a deliberate attempt to instill fear among Saied’s critics, warning that such harsh measures could further stifle free expression and deepen political tensions.

Since Saied dissolved the elected parliament and started ruling by decree, Tunisia has faced growing criticism by rights groups over the erosion of judicial independence.

The opposition called Saied’s power grab a coup.

Most opposition leaders, whom the president has labelled as traitors, are imprisoned on various charges.