Issam Grimen, a Tunisian citizen, was held at Gafsa Civil Prison in connection with a public order case. He had previously spent two decades living in Italy before being deported to Tunisia around a year and a half ago. The court eventually dismissed the case and ruled that there were no grounds for prosecution.

However, while still in detention, an incident occurred that would lead to new charges. During the airing of the evening news, several prisoners had gathered to watch television. A segment was broadcast showing the activities of President Kais Saied. At that point, Issam expressed his objection to watching the report and asked for the channel to be changed. This displeased one of the inmates, the “kabran”, or prisoner responsible for the cell, who interpreted Issam’s remark as an insult to the President.

The Kabran filed a complaint with the prison administration, submitting a written report in which he alleged that Issam had insulted the President and his supporters. He also enlisted another prisoner as a witness to support his claims.

The prison director subsequently opened an internal investigation, during which both the accused and the witnesses were questioned. On 27 June 2025, the investigation report was referred to the public prosecutor. Rather than dropping the matter, the prosecution chose to proceed and reclassified the incident as a criminal offence under Article 67 of the Penal Code, which criminalises acts deemed offensive toward the President.

According to the testimony of Issam Grimen’s lawyer, his mother was informed during a prison visit that her son had been placed in solitary confinement for a period of seven days, from 21 to 27 June.

Six days later, the court once again ruled not to pursue the original case, meaning Issam should have been released. However, due to the new charge filed against him within the prison, he remained in custody. On 10 July 2025, the criminal chamber of the Gafsa Court of First Instance sentenced him to six months in prison, the maximum penalty permitted under Article 226 bis of the Tunisian Penal Code.