Arabic version: هيومن رايتس ووتش تفصّل مخاوف حقوق الإنسان في تونس
According to Allafrica, Human Rights Watch said Tunisia’s human rights situation has deteriorated dramatically five years after President Kais Saied seized extraordinary executive powers on July 25, 2021. The organization said the country has seen systematic repression of civil society organizations, journalists, political opponents, independent lawyers and migrants.
Human Rights Watch said authorities have targeted civil society groups since May 2024 through arrests, detentions, financial and criminal investigations, and administrative suspensions. At least 47 people connected to nongovernmental organizations have been prosecuted, it said, while at least eight NGO workers were arbitrarily detained in connection with legitimate activities and held beyond the 14-month legal maximum for pretrial detention. Since January 2026, at least 14 NGO workers have been convicted and given prison terms connected to their work, the briefing said.
The group cited the eight-year prison sentence imposed on anti-racism activist Saadia Mosbah on March 19, 2026, which it described as the harshest sentence for an NGO worker. It also said a Tunis court temporarily suspended at least 20 associations between July and April 2026, and that Al Khatt and Mnemty faced dissolution proceedings as of August. Human Rights Watch said authorities had opened investigations into at least a dozen organizations, demanding financial records, summoning staff and partners, and freezing bank accounts.
The briefing also raised concerns about judicial independence, freedom of expression and migration policy. It said the government has used Decree-Law 54 on Cybercrime against journalists, bloggers and activists, and that three journalists remain imprisoned. It reported serious violations against migrants, asylum seekers and refugees from several African countries, including arbitrary detention, collective expulsions, ill-treatment, torture and sexual violence. Human Rights Watch called on Tunisia to end its crackdown on civil society, release people arbitrarily detained over legitimate work, and halt abusive prosecutions. It urged donors and other states to review cooperation with Tunisian authorities and link it to human rights obligations.
