human rights defender
Mourad Zghidi
Actions and Campaigns
Organization affiliation
- Syndicat national des journalistes tunisiens (SNJT)
HRD's year of birth
1972
HRD's Gender
Man
Type of HRD
- Journalist/Blogger
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
HRD's bio and work
(AI Translated) Mourad Zeghidi is a Tunisian sports journalist, born on 28 May 1972 in Tunis. He pursued literary and legal studies before embarking on journalism in 1992.
In 1992, he began his career by participating in a casting for Canal Horizon, which led him to present "Sport Horizon."
In 2000, he became head of sports for the Canal+ group in Africa.
In 2002, he joined the sports department of Canal+ in Paris. At the same time, he hosted the program "Stade7" on Canal 7 in Tunisia.
Current Status
In prison (sentenced)
Detained since
May 11, 2024
Charge(s)
- Financial crimes
- Spreading fake news
Sentence
(AI Translated) 4 years imprisonment
Latitude: 36.745929383785665
Longitude: 9.97537136077881
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Africa: Northern Africa
Location of detention - City/Town
(AI Translated) Tunis
Location of detention - Facility
(AI Translated) Mornaguia Prison
Recent case update / evolution
(AI Translated) In May 2024, Mourad Zeghidi was arrested and sentenced to one year in prison for disseminating “false news” and “false statements with the aim of defaming others.”
In July 2024, his sentence was reduced to eight months by the Tunis Court of Appeal.
Although he had served his sentence, he remained detained due to new money‑laundering charges.
On 5 March 2025, his request for release was rejected by the investigating judge of the Tunis Court of First Instance.
On 22 January 2026, the criminal chamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced Mourad Zeghidi to three years in prison for money laundering and an additional six months for tax offenses, in a case separate from that which led to his initial incarceration.
On 12 May 2026 the criminal chamber of the Tunis Court of Appeal confirmed Mourad Zeghidi’s sentence of three years and six months in prison for money laundering and tax offenses.
On 4 June 2026 Mourad Zeghidi’s family announced that he had “decided to begin a hunger strike to protest the injustice he is suffering and the judicial harassment he has endured for more than two years.” He continued his hunger strike for eleven days.
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