Sassi was arrested at his home on Wednesday.

The Al Jazeera journalist, Samir Sassiwas released by a Tunis court after being arrested on terrorism charges earlier this week.

Police entered Sassi’s home for the first time late Wednesday evening, searching his computer and confiscating his cellphone as well as those of his wife and four children.

Speaking to the AFP press agency, Sassi’s lawyer Ayachi Hammami – a prominent former MP and human rights activist – confirmed his client’s release.

Separately, a source familiar with the matter told Al Jazeera that authorities are not currently considering any further action “at least for now,” they added.

Reacting to Sassi’s release, Khaled Drareni, the North African representative of press freedom organization Reporters Sans Frontières, told Al Jazeera: “We condemn the unjustified arrest of Samir Sassi and continue to call on the Tunisian authorities to stop all forms of harassment against him” journalists.

“In our view, this latest arrest is further evidence of the authorities’ strategy to threaten press freedom in the country and create a climate of fear for journalists,” he said.

Prosecutions of Journalists and opponents of the government have increased rapidly since the introduction of Decree Law 54, which ostensibly aims to combat online misinformation. Its provisions are increasingly being used to silence criticism of Saied’s presidency. At the time of writing, more than 20 journalists and activists were awaiting trial after being charged with online violations.

Police arrested three journalists on December 28 – Khalifa Guesmi of Mosaique FM, Chadha Hadj Mbarek and well-known radio journalist Zied el-Heni. They accused him of insulting Tunisian Trade Minister Kalthoum Ben Rejeb on his radio show “Emission Impossible.”

“Detaining journalists in such a ruthless manner reflects the authoritarian mindset of the authorities, which persecutes anyone who expresses their opinion,” Mahdi Jlassi, president of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), told Al Jazeera. “The worrying thing in Samir Sassi’s case is that he was interrogated for 48 hours under the Terrorism Act and was deprived of the right to have a lawyer present during the interrogation.

“This represents a blatant violation of the conditions of a fair trial. This violation, together with the contempt for trial, the right to defense, the right to a fair trial and the guarantee of the presumption of innocence… have been characteristic of political trials for over two years and opinion-based processes in Tunisia.”

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said last year he was “deeply concerned” about the crackdown on the media in Tunisia and vaguely worded laws criminalizing criticism.

The SNJT is currently planning a protest in front of the country’s main court in Tunis when radio journalist el-Heni appears there on Wednesday.