A Tunisian court has sentenced lawmaker Ahmed Saidani to eight months in prison for mocking President Kais Saied on social media, specifically for calling him the “supreme commander of sanitation and rainwater drainage” after recent deadly floods. Saidani was charged with insulting others via communication networks, an offense punishable by up to two years in prison under Tunisia’s telecommunications law.

The arrest is seen as part of a broader crackdown on dissent since Saied suspended parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. Human rights groups criticize Saied’s actions as suppressing opposition and turning Tunisia into an “open-air prison”. Saied, however, claims he’s enforcing the law and seeking to “cleanse” the country.