A judge ordered prominent Tunisian journalist Zied Heni to be arrested late Tuesday before his trial for insulting President Kais Saied.
In 2021, Saied took over the judiciary and ruled by decree, raising fears about free expression in Tunisia.
Heni was questioned alone. “What happened is a farce that enhances dictatorial approach,” Heni lawyer Dalila ben Mbarek told Reuters.
Heni, a daily radio host, has not addressed the charges of insulting the president, which carry a five-year prison sentence.
Over the past several months, judges have imprisoned or investigated over 20 opposition political, judicial, media, and business personalities for plotting against state security.
Rights groups and opposition parties have called the arrests politically motivated.
Saied calls the captives terrorists, criminals, and traitors and believes the judges who release them are aiding them.
After the 2011 revolution, Tunisians won free speech. Activists, journalists, and politicians say this freedom is again threatened. Saied denies censorship and dictatorship.
