Tunisia · Friday, 4 September 2026
HRW: Tunisia has prosecuted 47 civil society figures and suspended 20 groups since 2024
Human Rights Watch says Tunisian authorities have prosecuted at least 47 people linked to non-governmental organisations since May 2024, with at least 14 convicted and imprisoned in trials held in 2025 and 2026, and suspended more than 20 associations including the Tunisian Human Rights League, the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women and I Watch. The 49-page report cites human rights defender Saadia Mosbah's eight-year sentence on financial charges in March as an example, and says the authorities are misapplying the 2011 law that was meant to protect freedom of association, after President Kais Saied repeatedly described foreign-funded NGOs as a threat to sovereignty.