Arabic version: لجنة حماية الصحفيين وشركاؤها تطالب بالإفراج عن زياد الهني

According to Allafrica, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 16 other civil society organizations have called on Tunisian authorities to immediately release imprisoned journalist Zied el-Heni and end what they described as judicial harassment against him.

The organizations said their statement addresses three separate cases against El-Heni that are linked to his journalism and critical commentary. They cited his latest sentence of four years in prison, followed by five years of police supervision after his release.

El-Heni was convicted on October 27 of four terrorism-related charges, the statement said. The groups urged authorities to overturn his convictions and drop all pending charges related to his journalism.

They also called for an end to the use of criminal and counterterrorism laws to silence the press in Tunisia. The statement is available in English and Arabic.