Tunisia's rights defenders decry civil society crackdown

Human Rights Watch report documents escalating pressure on Tunisian civil society

Tunisia's authorities have sharply intensified pressure on civil society, prosecuting activists and NGO workers, investigating groups' finances and suspending dozens of associations in a campaign that Human Rights Watch says has severely narrowed the civic space that emerged after the 2011 revolution.

In a 49-page report released on Wednesday, the rights group documented what it described as escalating repression of local and international civil society organisations, their workers and affiliates through arrests, lengthy preventive detention, criminal and financial investigations, mass suspensions and threats of dissolution.

Human Rights Watch said authorities have prosecuted at least 47 people connected to nongovernmental organisations and held at least 10 people in preventive detention for longer than 14 months, exceeding the maximum period permitted under Tunisian law. After trials in 2025 and 2026, at least 14 people connected to civil society have been convicted and sentenced to prison, the rights group said.

Among them is prominent human rights defender Saadia Mosbah, who was sentenced to eight years in prison and a heavy fine on financial crime charges on March 19, according to the report. Five employees of organisations assisting asylum seekers have also been convicted on charges linked to their work and the mandates of their legally registered associations, Human Rights Watch said. The organisations have since ceased their activities.

Crackdown extends beyond individual activists

The crackdown has extended beyond individual activists to organisations working on some of the country's most politically sensitive issues, particularly migration. From May to December 2024, authorities arrested several workers at groups providing assistance to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants as well as people working to combat racism and discrimination, according to Human Rights Watch. The arrests were made when tensions were heightened over the treatment of sub-Saharan Africans in Tunisia.

In February 2023, President Kais Saied said the presence of sub-Saharan refugees and migrants was part of a "criminal plan" to change Tunisia's demographic composition and described it as a form of "occupation." Authorities have used laws criminalising assistance to foreigners with irregular immigration status and Tunisia's 2015 "counterterrorism" and money-laundering law to bring what Human Rights Watch described as abusive charges against human rights defenders and workers at NGOs.

At the end of 2024, the Tax Evasion Investigation and Prevention Brigade notified at least a dozen associations, including Amnesty International's regional office and the anticorruption group I Watch, that they were under investigation. The investigations resulted in the freezing of at least two associations' bank accounts. Private banks imposed restrictions on some associations, including revoking their access to hard currency or convertible dinar accounts, blocking or returning foreign funds, or closing accounts.

Authorities used Decree-Law 2011-88 on associations to suspend organisations from July to October 2025 and from April to May this year. Human Rights Watch identified at least 20 suspended civil society associations. Al Khatt, which publishes the independent online magazine Inkyfada, and the antiracism organisation Mnemty are currently facing dissolution proceedings.

The judiciary has been under the control of the executive since 2022 when Saied took expansive measures that Human Rights Watch said undermined judicial independence. Associations have reported being denied accreditation to observe elections, facing tighter restrictions on access to prisons and detention facilities, and having public events banned.

Activists describe chilling effect

The pressure has had a chilling effect on activists and journalists. Rabie Kacem, a member of the Tunisian civic collective Nafas, said activists or anyone interested in public affairs think twice before speaking, writing or organising an activity. Tunisian photojournalist Noureddine Ahmed said restrictions on journalists had become more pronounced over the past five years and estimated that the number of photojournalists has fallen by about half.

Messaoud Romdhani, a Tunisian human rights activist, told DW that most civil society organizations are in a state of shock. "Those who criticize the authorities or situation in Tunisia face widespread repression," he explained, adding that "most have been accused of money laundering, which leads to the suspension of their activities."

Another Tunisian activist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that increasingly people were thinking twice before speaking in public or even choosing to work on sensitive issues. "What worries me most is the chilling effect: When organizations face suspension and activists face prosecution or detention, the uncertainty itself becomes a form of pressure," he said.

Government defends measures, rejects authoritarian label

President Saied, who was elected democratically in 2019, has rejected accusations that he is an authoritarian ruler and argued that his measures are necessary to tackle corruption and uphold democracy. He has accused critics of receiving foreign funding to stir unrest and undermine Tunisia's national interests.

In July 2021, Saied dissolved parliament, dismissed the government and began to rule by decree. Since then, he has dismantled most democratic bodies, repressed political dissent and arrested opposition figures, according to reports. Since 2022, Saied has publicly portrayed civil society and NGOs as a threat to national sovereignty. Two draft laws, one leaked in early 2022 and another submitted to parliament in October 2023, would give the government significant control over the establishment, activities, operations and funding of independent organisations.

DW reached out to the Tunisian presidency for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Protests and public discontent

The crackdown comes amid growing public discontent. On July 25, thousands took to the streets of Tunis to protest worsening living conditions, democratic backsliding and the government's handling of basic services. The protests came amid widespread water and electricity outages, which Saied has described as "premeditated acts aimed at inflaming the situation by all means and spreading lies and rumors to sow confusion."

In late August, protesters chanted "The people want the fall of the regime," a popular slogan from the 2010-2011 Arab Spring uprising. The demonstration in late August was initiated by Nafas, a new citizen-led umbrella initiative launched in May. Mohamed Hawel, a university teacher and member of the Nafas collective, told AP that Nafas was created to unite people around basic necessities, including water, electricity and food.

Generational divide in public opinion

An Arab Barometer survey found an emerging generational divide in Tunisia. A report published in July found that older and less educated Tunisians have vastly different views from younger, better educated Tunisians. The survey showed that the older generation saw the current political and economic situation in the most positive light since the Arab Spring. Younger Tunisians were more pessimistic about the country's economic and political development and remained more skeptical of state institutions.

Forty-nine percent of Tunisians between the ages of 18 and 39 expressed trust in civil society organizations, compared with 32% of those aged 40 and older. Michael Robbins, director of Arab Barometer, told DW that the recent decline in trust in civil society is almost entirely a story about older Tunisians. Tunisia has a population of approximately 12 million people; those aged 18–39 account for roughly 30% of the population, while those aged 40 and older account for approximately 43%.

Analysts weigh in on Saied's position

Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told DW that Saied's goals have been the same for the last five years, namely to consolidate power and remove potential checks on and critics of his rule. However, Dworkin said the notion of a divided society is overstated and that the recent demonstrations are not large enough to pose a serious threat to Kais Saied. He admitted that Saied had lost considerable public support over his failure to improve the country's economy, but said there are no attractive political alternatives and people are also tired of political upheaval.

Human Rights Watch calls for action

Human Rights Watch called on Tunisian authorities to end abusive investigations, judicial harassment and criminalisation of legitimate civil society, and to release NGO workers, activists and human rights defenders it considers arbitrarily detained. Bassam Khawaja, Human Rights Watch's deputy Middle East and North Africa director, said: "By dismantling the space for civil society, the authorities are trying to ensure no one is left to hold them accountable."