Mohamed Boughalleb, a well-known journalist, gets released by a Tunisian judge

Prominent journalist Mohamed Boughalleb, a critic of President Kais Saied, was freed by a Tunisian judge on Thursday, according to his attorney, who told Reuters. The opposition believes this decision will result in the release of other opposition and media personalities who have been imprisoned.

The head of the Truth and Dignity Commission and seasoned politician Sihem Ben Sedrine was also freed on Wednesday following months of imprisonment. Thursday also saw the release of former minister Riadh Mouakhar.

The action follows two days after the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Tunisia to stop detaining, arresting, and imprisoning human rights advocates, attorneys, journalists, and politicians.

Saied’s most well-known opponents, Abir Moussi, the leader of the Free Constitutional Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of Ennahda’s party, are among the dozens of high-ranking politicians who have been imprisoned since 2023.

In an attempt to silence journalists, Boughalleb was imprisoned last year for allegedly insulting a public official, according to the journalist’s union.

When Saied shut down the elected parliament in 2021, he acquired more powers by enforcing decrees before taking control of the courts.

Since the 2011 revolution, Tunisians have benefited much from press freedom, and their media is now among the most transparent in all of the Arab world.

But according to unions, journalists, and politicians, Saied’s rule has put press freedom in grave danger. The president, who was elected president in 2019, has denied these charges and declared that he will not turn into a totalitarian ruler.