Mohamed Boughaleb is a Tunisian journalist and human rights defender who has been repeatedly prosecuted under the sweeping framework of Decree‑Law No. 54 on so-called cyber-crimes and false news. Boughaleb was arrested on 22 March 2024 following a complaint by a senior official at the Ministry of Religious Affairs in connection with his radio, television and social media commentary criticising ministry spending and foreign visits. He was initially convicted under defamation and telecommunications statutes and sentenced on 17 April 2024 to six months in prison; this was increased on appeal to eight months. He remained held in pre-trial detention in a separate case under Article 24 of Decree-Law 54 (accused of attributing a social-media post to him that his lawyers say he did not author) and his health deteriorated while in custody. On 10 July 2025 the Criminal Chamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced him to two years in prison under Article 24 of Decree-Law 54 following a complaint filed by a university professor about a post deemed defamatory, despite expert evidence that Boughaleb was not the author of the publication. In a separate case the Tunis Court of Appeal had already sentenced him to eight months’ imprisonment for his commentary on the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ policies and visits abroad.