Tunisia prosecutes 47 activists and suspends dozens of NGOs, HRW reports

September 2, 2026 at 09:01 AM3 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Tunisian authorities have prosecuted at least 47 people linked to civil society groups and suspended dozens of associations, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Wednesday. At least 14 people have been convicted and sentenced to prison in trials during 2025 and 2026, including rights defender Saadia Mosbah, who received an eight-year term. The crackdown has targeted groups working on migration and anti-discrimination, with financial investigations opened against at least a dozen associations.

Key Facts

Human Rights Watch documented at least 47 prosecutions of people connected to NGOs and at least 10 held in preventive detention for longer than 14 months.
At least 14 people linked to civil society were convicted and sentenced to prison in trials during 2025 and 2026.
Saadia Mosbah, a prominent human rights defender, was sentenced to eight years in prison and a heavy fine on financial crime charges on March 19.
From May to December 2024, authorities arrested several workers at groups assisting refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and those combating racism and discrimination.
At the end of 2024, the Tax Evasion Investigation and Prevention Brigade notified at least a dozen associations, including Amnesty International's regional office and I Watch, that they were under investigation.

Prosecutions and Detentions

Human Rights Watch said authorities have prosecuted at least 47 people connected to nongovernmental organisations. At least 10 people have been held in preventive detention for longer than 14 months, exceeding the maximum period permitted under Tunisian law. After trials in 2025 and 2026, at least 14 people connected to civil society have been convicted and sentenced to prison. Prominent human rights defender Saadia Mosbah was sentenced to eight years in prison and a heavy fine on financial crime charges on March 19. Five employees of organisations assisting asylum seekers have also been convicted on charges linked to their work and the mandates of their legally registered associations.

Targeting Migration and Anti-Discrimination Work

The crackdown has extended beyond individual activists to organisations working on politically sensitive issues, particularly migration. From May to December 2024, authorities arrested several workers at groups providing assistance to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants as well as people working to combat racism and discrimination. The arrests were made when tensions were heightened over the treatment of sub-Saharan Africans in Tunisia. In February 2023, President Kais Saied said the presence of sub-Saharan refugees and migrants was part of a "criminal plan" to change Tunisia's demographic composition and described it as a form of "occupation". Human Rights Watch said authorities have used laws criminalising assistance to foreigners with irregular immigration status and Tunisia's 2015 "counterterrorism" and money-laundering law to bring abusive charges against human rights defenders and workers at NGOs.

Financial Investigations and Suspensions

The pressure has also taken a financial form, with the Tax Evasion Investigation and Prevention Brigade notifying at least a dozen associations at the end of 2024 that they were under investigation. The notified associations included Amnesty International's regional office and the anticorruption group I Watch. Human Rights Watch said the campaign has severely narrowed the civic space that emerged after the 2011 revolution.