The Tunisian elementary court sentences a content maker to 25 years in prison

The Criminal Chamber of the Tunisian Primary Court today sentenced a number of content creators and other defendants to 25 years in prison after completing a court investigation into financial activity via social media. The case involved 24 defendants, including digital platform activists, who were tracked down under research involving their financial transactions and communications networks.

The court charged those involved with money laundering and human trafficking, as well as producing, displaying and downloading pornographic digital content that includes palace exploitation. The list of official charges against the accused also included possession, promotion and incitement to use drugs through digital space.

The verdict follows an earlier decision by the Prosecutor's Office of the Tunisian Court of Appeal, which ruled that the defendants were referred to the Criminal Chamber after a series of investigations into transactions and financial flows linked to their accounts. The case originally stemmed from instructions from the Justice Department to the Public Prosecutor's Office in late 2024 to open criminal investigations against publishers of content that violates public morals, and the trial was based on the Criminal Journal, Communications Journal, the Information and Communication Systems Crime Act, and anti-money laundering and human trafficking legislation.

These judgments are preliminary and first-degree judgments, as Tunisian law allows defendants to appeal to the Tunisian Court of Appeal within legally defined limits.