A Joint Statement to Protect Civic Space and Rule of Law in Tunisia
The undersigned organisations are following with deep concern the rapid and alarming deterioration of the public freedoms landscape in Tunisia. Since 2021—and with increasing intensity since 2023—the country has witnessed systematic campaigns targeting independent voices, undermining the role of civil society, and criminalising all forms of civic and political opposition.
The Tunisian authorities have undertaken a series of practices that constitute a direct violation of the country’s international obligations, including arbitrary arrests, politically motivated prosecutions, the administrative suspension of associations, and financial and bureaucratic restrictions aimed at paralysing organisations’ ability to operate. These measures have been accompanied by sham trials targeting a large number of politicians from diverse ideological backgrounds, in a context where the judiciary has been fully subordinated to the executive branch and reduced to a mere instrument of it.
These proceedings lack even the most basic guarantees of due process, including the right of defendants to be present in the courtroom. As a result, heavy sentences have been issued without hearing the detained political opponents and without allowing their lawyers to plead on their behalf—both in the first instance and appellate courts.
In 2023 and 2024, Tunisian authorities arrested a large number of prominent political figures on charges of “conspiracy against state security,” including Ghazi Chaouachi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khayam Turki, Issam Chebbi, Ridha Belhaj, and Abdelhamid Jlassi, in addition to Abir Moussi, Lotfi Mraihi, and Ayachi Zammel, who were potential presidential candidates for the October 2024 elections.
These actions pose a serious threat to the rule of law and reveal a clear trend toward shrinking civic and political space, transforming state institutions into tools of repression and political punishment, and dismantling opposition.
This campaign has involved the direct targeting of journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, political activists, and civil society workers. Authorities have relied on vague and overly broad laws and decrees—most notably Decree 54—to criminalise free expression, opening lengthy and exhausting investigations that lack any solid legal basis.
In May 2024, these violations extended to organisations notably working on the rights of refugees and migrants. Several of their staff members were interrogated, their offices raided, and their funding sources investigated as part of a coordinated smear campaign aimed at criminalising humanitarian work itself.
This was accompanied by hostile official and media discourse built on discrediting and defaming civil society actors—accusing them of treason or threatening national security—which contributed to generating a public climate hostile to human rights and charged with hatred and incitement.
Following these orchestrated online attacks and inflammatory official statements, criminal investigations under the 2015 Anti-Terrorism Law were opened against activists and members of nongovernmental organisations, particularly those working on migration and asylum. Human rights defenders were summoned, interrogated, and detained, with some held for more than 580 days without trial. These include activists from Mnemty: Saadia Mosbah; from the Tunisian Refugee Council: Abdelrazek Krimi and Mostafa Jemeli; from Tunisie Terre d’Asile: Sherifa Riahi, Mohamed Jouou, and Iyadh Boussalmi; from the Association for the Defence of the Right to Difference: Salwa Grissa; and from Children of the Moon Association: Abdallah Said.
Repression has also targeted associations specialising in election observation and anti-corruption efforts, indicating a systematic attempt to dismantle all independent civic oversight mechanisms over the political system—from the constitutional referendum to the 2024 presidential elections. Among these organisations are I Watch and the Mourakiboun Network. Even groups that were not directly targeted by arrests or official restrictions have faced indirect yet crippling forms of pressure.
Since October 2024, Amnesty International has documented how financial institutions, under pressure from the authorities, have blocked or redirected financial transfers intended for several organisations, severely undermining their ability to operate—a clear sign that repression has extended into economic and regulatory channels.
In 2025, the number of associations subjected to temporary suspension increased at an alarming rate, reaching more than 600 Tunisian organisations. These include the Tunisian Association for the Development of Digital Culture (Boubli), Chahed Observatory, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the Tunisian Wildlife Association, Nawaat, Inkyfada, the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, and the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.
Additionally, individuals previously released in the so-called “conspiracy” cases have been re-arrested, including Chaima Issa, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, and Ayachi Hammami. New arrests have also occurred under antiterrorist law, particularly among lawyers, such as Ahmed Souab.
The signatories of this statement collectively recognise the historic and pivotal role that Tunisian civil society has played in advancing freedoms across the region. For decades, its activity and dynamism have inspired numerous movements and individuals striving for justice, dignity, and democratic rights.
Therefore, this statement is not merely an expression of solidarity; it is part of a shared struggle against absolute authoritarianism and the current drift toward autocracy, which today threatens fundamental rights and citizenship—not only in Tunisia but throughout the region. We strongly believe that protecting civic space in Tunisia is a cross-border necessity, as its erosion would have profound repercussions beyond Tunisia’s borders and could trigger a new regional human rights setback.
We call on the Tunisian authorities to:
Immediately end the ongoing violations of fundamental rights and cease all forms of intimidation, harassment, and criminalisation targeting those who speak out.
Release all opinion and political prisoners, particularly civil society workers who have merely fulfilled their humanitarian duties of solidarity with vulnerable groups, in accordance with national law and Tunisia’s international obligations.
Revise or repeal repressive legislation, including decree-laws and other restrictive measures such as Decree-Law 54 on cybercrime.
Stop the instrumentalisation of penal laws—such as anti-terrorism and anti–money laundering legislation—to criminalise journalists and activists.
Guarantee judicial independence and uphold the rule of law to ensure fair trials, safeguard the rights of defence, and protect freedom of association and political participation.
* This statement is drafted by the ‘regional solidarity convening’, an initiative from civil society actors from the SWANA region who share anti-colonial, and transdisciplinary, participatory, transformative, intersectional, feminist approaches to achieving social justice. The convening seeks to reclaim political engagement, decolonize narratives, and imagine alternatives for more just, inclusive and equitable futures.