The Tunisian authorities have intensified their crackdown on NGOs and human rights defenders, reaching what Amnesty International describes as a critical” level marked by arrests, asset freezes and arbitrary suspensions.
In a report published on November 14, 2025, Amnesty International says the Tunisian government is increasingly resorting to coercive measures against human rights organisations.
Arbitrary arrests, detentions, banking restrictions and court-ordered suspensions have multiplied, all justified in the name of combating “suspect” foreign funding and protecting “national interests.”
A landmark case illustrates this escalation: six staff members from the Tunisian Council for Refugees (CTR) are being prosecuted solely for activities linked to their work supporting refugees and asylum seekers. The opening hearing, initially set for October 16, has been postponed to November 24.
Over the past four months, at least 14 Tunisian and international NGOs have been served with judicial orders instructing them to suspend operations for 30 days.
Among them are the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD), the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), Nawaat, and the Tunisian section of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) — four key pillars of the country’s civil society landscape.
Amnesty notes that the crackdown undermines the spirit of Decree-Law No. 88 of 2011, considered one of the major gains of the revolution.
According to Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty’s Director of Research and Advocacy, the authorities are “systematically dismantling the rule of law and silencing all dissent,” in a trend echoing other authoritarian shifts worldwide.
Since 2023, President Kaïs Saïed has repeatedly accused NGOs of receiving foreign funding for serving “external agendas.”
In May 2024, he went as far as labelling some organisations working on migration issues as “traitors.” These statements were followed by raids, financial investigations and inquiries targeting at least 12 organisations.
Amnesty urges the authorities to drop the charges, lift the suspensions and end retaliatory measures against legally operating organisations.
MK/ak/lb/gik/APA