Tunisia lawmaker jailed eight months for criticising president

A Tunisian court on Thursday sentenced a lawmaker to eight months in prison for criticising President Kais Saied following recent floods, local media reported.

Ahmed Saidani was taken into custody earlier this month after posting on social media about Saied's visits to areas affected by floods, calling him the "supreme commander of sanitation and stormwater drainage".

Saidani's lawyer, Houssem Eddine Ben Attia, had told AFP his client was being prosecuted under a telecommunications law against "harming others via social media", which carries up to two years in prison.

Rights groups have warned of a rollback on freedoms in Tunisia since Saied staged a sweeping power grab in 2021.

Dozens of his critics are being prosecuted or in prison, including under a law criminalising "false news".

Saidani had backed Saied's power grab and the detention of several opposition figures, but has recently become vocally critical of the president.

At least five people died and others were still missing after Tunisia was hit by its heaviest rainfall in more than 70 years last month.