TUNIS, Tunisia — Authorities in Tunisia have ordered a one-month suspension of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, one of the oldest and most renowned rights groups in Africa and the Arab world, in the latest move raising concerns over a widening crackdown on civil society.
The league, which is part of the National Dialogue Quartet, recipient of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, confirmed the suspension in a statement late Friday, warning that the decision amounted to “a serious and arbitrary violation of freedom of association” and “a direct assault” on one of Tunisia’s key democratic gains.
President Kais Saied, who has consolidated power since 2021, has often cited foreign funding, which rights groups sometimes rely on, as a threat to Tunisia, using it to fuel a populist narrative and accuse his political opponents and social justice activists of being foreign agents and stirring unrest at home.
“This measure cannot be seen in isolation from a broader context in the country marked by increasing systematic pressure on civil society and independent voices,” the group said, adding that it would challenge what it called an unjust decision in court while continuing to defend victims of rights violations without discrimination.
The suspension follows a series of similar measures targeting rights groups in the North African country, where courts last year ordered multiple prominent NGOs to halt activities for a month, including organizations focused on migrants’ and women’s rights.
The decision comes as journalist Zied El-Heni was placed under 48-hour detention over a Facebook post, amid a broader pattern of arrests and legal pressure targeting critics.
Mohamed Yassine Jlassi, a former president of the Tunisian journalists union SNJT, told the Associated Press on the sidelines of a protest in Tunis, the capital, on Friday that hundreds of people were being detained over speech-related charges, including social media posts.
“Repression has come to affect everyone. Journalism has become a crime, civil society work has become a crime, political opposition has been criminalized,” he said.
“People now increasingly find themselves facing arbitrary prosecutions without the bare minimum guarantees of a fair trial.”
Meanwhile, the investigative outlet Inkyfada faces a court hearing May 11 as authorities pursue the dissolution of Al Khatt, the association that publishes it.
The group said in a statement that it disputes the legal basis of the case and says the claims cited by the government have not been examined by Tunisian courts since 2024.
These developments add to growing concerns among rights advocates over restrictions on independent media, civil society and any dissenting voices under Saied.
Mbarek writes for the Associated Press.
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