Nigeria, Oct. 8 -- His release on Tuesday, October 5, followed intense criticism of his death sentence, which had been handed down for several Facebook posts that criticized President Kais Saied and government officials.

Ben Chouchane was arrested in January 2024 for a series of online posts that condemned the president's leadership, accused the judiciary of corruption, and called on Tunisians to protest peacefully.

A court in Nabeul, east of the capital Tunis, later found him guilty of insulting the president and the judiciary, spreading false information, and inciting unrest.

Last week, the court sentenced him to death, a punishment that drew sharp condemnation from rights organizations and foreign observers. His lawyer, Oussama Bout...