Tunisia sliding into authoritarianism, experts say

Human rights in Tunisia are a growing case for concern. On Tuesday, courts upheld the sentencing of two prominent Tunisian journalists accused of financial crimes. But media rights group say the ruling was a case of "judicial harassment," and argued that the charges leveled lacked evidence.

Prior to the hearing, Amnesty International sounded the alarm, accusing Tunisian authorities of intensifying their pressure on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and using legal means to disband such groups. NGO that advocate for human rights, migrant protection, election monitoring and against corruption are most affected.

"Dozens of NGOs run the risk of being dissolved, while others are being prosecuted," Safia Rayan of Amnesty International told DW. "The crackdown on civil society and independent media outlets is intensifying and threatening their existence."

Last week, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on Tunisia to end its repression of opposition members and civil society groups. Speaking in Geneva, Türk said human rights activists were being criminalized.

The fate of 84-year-old Rached Ghannouchi, the chairman of the moderate Islamic Ennahda party, has also sparked concern. He ranks among the country's most prominent prisoners, and has been handed jail sentences now adding up to around 50 years behind bars according to Reuters news agency.

Tunisian President Kais Saied, elected to office in 2019, has been consolidating power since 2021. He's sidelined the Tunisia's parliament, weakened its judiciary and has action against opposition members and critics.

Democracy, undermined

The Democratic Erosion Consortium, a US organization specialized in examining democratic structures, describes Saied's style of government as "stealth authoritarianism," whereby democratic institutions are undermined gradually. All that remains, according to the group, is a "facade of a democracy."

Tunisian authorities have been cracking down on dissidents for some time now. In April 2025, a Tunis court sentenced 37 opposition members and human rights defenders to prison terms of between four and 66 years. Amnesty International described the charges as "unfounded." Yet in November, a court of appeal upheld most verdicts.

In the past year, there have also been "positive examples where sustained collective mobilization led to the release of arbitrarily detained persons," Amnesty International's Safia Rayan said. Nevertheless, authorities had continued undermining human rights and the rule of law, Rayan added.

"The level of repression has now reached a degree where the state not only suppresses criticism of human rights violations, but even persecutes those who criticize this suppression itself," according to Maria Josua of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA). She pointed to the case of journalist Zied El Heni, who was sentenced to one year in prison in early May after he criticized Tunisia's justice system.

The Tunisian court in question justified its tough ruling by arguing that El Heni had "harmed others." But GIGA analyst Josua told DW that "legal instruments are increasingly being used to silence opposition and critical voices."

President denies accusations

President Kais Saied, meanwhile, rejects accusations that he is steering the country into authoritarianism, recently telling news agencies he did not intend to become a dictator. He added that while civil liberties were guaranteed, no one stands above the law.

The Tunisian daily La Presse, which is thought to be affiliated with the government, expressed a similar view in early April. It said that while civil society organizations had played an important role in Tunisia's democratic transition, they should stop receiving foreign funding.

Meanwhile, press freedom in Tunisia has also deteriorated drastically. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) now ranks Tunisia 137th out of 180 countries when it comes to journalistic freedom, just one place above crisis-ridden Libya. This is all the more worrying as Tunisia was once praised as a democratic role model.

"Since President Kais Saied’s coup in July 2021, press freedom has been in steep decline," RSF warned.

Coordinated suppression?

The dynamics unfolding within the Tunisian state must be carefully examined, said Manuel Gath, who heads the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's (FES) Tunis office. "I have my doubts that every investigation into, or suspension of an NGO is actually as strategic and targeted as it might appear from the outside," Gath told DW. Sometimes, he added, such acts are merely the product of arbitrary or hasty state action.

Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and refugee organizations are also coming under increasing pressure. Five members of the Tunisian Council for Refugees organization are currently on trial, accused of supporting illegal migration, even though they cooperated with the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Human Rights Watch says civil society work is increasingly criminalized.

Manuel Gath explained that Tunisian authorities often instrumentalize financial or administrative issues to take action against civil society groups. "As soon as something doesn't specifically meet the norm, a suspension is issued."

Former Saied supporters are not spared state repression, either. Lawmaker Ahmed Saidani was sentenced to eight months in prison earlier this year after mocking Saied in a satirical Facebook post. "This shows how low the regime's tolerance threshold has become," Maria Josua pointed out, "when even satire and minor forms of public criticism are criminalized."

Why is Saied still popular at home?

Observers argue that the country's economic challenges are actually a contributing factor to why Saied continues to enjoy domestic support. The Atlantic Council, a US think tank, says that Tunisia has faced unemployment, inflation and economic stagnation since the 2011 revolution. Amid this instability, President Saied is still perceived as more favorable than Tunisia's divided political elite.

While the economic situation has not noticeably improved since his coup, "it hasn't got dramatically worse either," according to Gath. At the same time, however, the debt ratio continues to rise, and the Tunisian economy is coming under increasing pressure.

The government is simply "buying time" by going after civil society, Gath argued. This, he said, was dangerous given the country's growing debt and inflation. Moreover, solving "growth and employment issues are being postponed and becoming more costly to fix as time passes."

GIGA expert Maria Josua agreed. She told DW that "Saied taking such massive action against any form of criticism is indicative of the weakness of his authoritarian system." She added that "he is obviously no longer able to mobilize support through political ideas or economic success."

She added that she believes EU countries have a role to play: "Despite migration-related interests, European countries should continue to insist Tunisia honor democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights."

This article was translated from German.