CPJ: Free Tunisian journalists amid heatwave

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has demanded Tunisian authorities release three journalists immediately. This urgent call follows reports of at least 10 prisoner deaths in recent weeks during an extreme heatwave, raising fears over life-threatening conditions in the country's overcrowded prisons.

Temperatures in some Tunisian cities have approached 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). Rights groups and prisoners' families have documented severe overcrowding, cuts to water and electricity, inadequate ventilation, and limited access to medical care. Five prisoners died in a single day in facilities in the greater Tunis area.

Call for release amid dangerous conditions

CPJ's Regional Director Sara Qudah linked the dire prison situation directly to the journalists' cases. "The deaths of 10 prisoners amid Tunisia’s severe heatwave make the continued imprisonment of journalists Zied el-Heni, Mourad Zghidi, and Borhen Bsaies even more alarming," Qudah said. She stated the journalists should never have been imprisoned for their work and exercising free speech. Qudah warned authorities must not compound that injustice by exposing them to dangerous conditions.

Details of the imprisoned journalists

The cases against the three journalists involve financial and speech-related charges. Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies have been imprisoned since May 2024. After serving eight-month sentences for commentary and social media posts, they were kept in detention under a new financial investigation. In January 2026, both were sentenced to three and a half years in prison on charges including money laundering and tax violations.

Zied el-Heni is serving a one-year prison sentence under Article 86 of the Telecommunications Code. He was arrested on April 24 over a social media post that criticized the prosecution of another journalist, Khalifa Guesmi. Guesmi was himself imprisoned for more than three years.

CPJ's demands to Tunisian authorities

In its statement, CPJ outlined specific actions for the Tunisian government. The organization urges authorities to ensure humane prison conditions, including guaranteed access to water, ventilation, and medical care. CPJ also calls for an independent investigation into the 10 recent deaths in custody. The group has previously documented numerous injuries and health crises in detention facilities globally.

The organization reported it emailed the office of the Tunisian president requesting comment but received no reply. The call for release centers on the immediate threat posed by the combination of extreme weather and documented systemic failures within the prison system, a pattern visible in the grim stats on prisoner mortality.