Tunisia’s civil society faces growing pressure as crackdown widens

What the report says

Human Rights Watch says Tunisia’s authorities have widened pressure on civil society through arrests, prosecutions, financial probes and association suspensions, sharply limiting the civic space that expanded after the 2011 revolution. Al Jazeera reported from Tunis that the rights group’s 49-page account, released on Wednesday, describes a campaign affecting activists, nongovernmental organisations and staff linked to aid, anti-racism and migration work.

According to the report, at least 47 people connected to NGOs have been prosecuted, at least 10 have remained in preventive detention for more than 14 months, and at least 14 civil society figures have been convicted and sentenced in trials in 2025 and 2026. Among those cited is human rights defender Saadia Mosbah, who received an eight-year prison sentence and a fine on financial charges. Human Rights Watch also said five employees of organisations assisting asylum seekers were convicted over work tied to their associations’ mandates.

The group said the pressure has extended to organisations themselves, including tax and money-laundering investigations, frozen bank accounts and restrictions imposed by private banks. It said at least 20 associations were suspended between July and October 2025 and again between April and May this year, with some facing dissolution proceedings. Al Jazeera noted that the affected groups include Amnesty International’s regional office, I Watch, Inkyfada publisher Al Khatt and the anti-racism group Mnemty.

The report adds that the climate has affected journalists and speech more broadly, with activists and reporters describing increased caution and fear. In general, rights groups have long warned that President Kais Saied’s consolidation of power since 2021 has weakened checks on the executive, a point that provides context for the crackdown described in the report.