Country: Tunisia

Efforts taken by the state after the Tunisian revolution to strengthen human rights protection have been tainted with violations to fundamental guarantees and fair trial rights, especially committed in the framework of counter-terrorism and national security cases. The counter-terrorism law currently in force defines terrorism broadly and establishes a legal regime which severely restricts fundamental legal safeguards for persons held in custody.

In the wake of a series of deadly attacks in 2015, the executive has regularly prolonged the state of emergency, granting the Ministry of Interior exceptional powers, such as carrying out home arrests and imposing curfews. The maintenance of public order has also been used as justification to restrict the freedoms of assembly, association and expression.

In the field of transitional justice, a commission was established to investigate the serious human rights violations committed between 1955 and 2013. As the commission’s mandate has not been extended, and given the low number of cases referred to specialised courts, many victims and families now fear that impunity for past crimes will prevail. Alongside the lack of security sector vetting and reform and the interference of the executive in the judiciary, the situation does not allow for effective measures to avoid the repetition of past practices of human rights violations.

Un réfugié algérien violemment enlevé en Tunisie et transféré illégalement vers l’Algérie

Slimane Bouhafs est un militant Amazigh chrétien algérien. Il s’est fait connaître par ses déclarations sur les réseaux sociaux, dénonçant les discriminations dont sont victimes les minorités amazighes et chrétiennes en Algérie. À la suite de ses publications pacifiques sur Facebook, il a été condamné par la Cour d’appel de Sétif en septembre 2016 à […]

Algerian refugee violently abducted in Tunisia and illegally rendered to Algeria

Slimane Bouhafs is an Algerian Christian activist and member of the Amazigh ethnic minority. He became known for his statements on social media, advocating against the discrimination affecting Amazigh and Christian minorities in Algeria. As a result of his peaceful Facebook posts, he was sentenced by the Court of Appeal of Sétif in September 2016 […]

Enforced disappearances in the context of transnational repression in the MENA

1 Introduction 1.1 Transnational repression in the MENA According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), transnational repression refers to “acts conducted or directed by a State, or its proxy, to deter, silence or punish dissent, criticism or human rights advocacy towards it, expressed from outside its territory.”[1] These acts often […]

Rights groups condemn the sentencing of Ramlah Dahmani under Decree 54 as a dangerous escalation in the targeting of women human rights defenders and the criminalization of solidarity

The undersigned organizations express their strong condemnation of the in absentia verdict issued on 1 July 2025 against activist Ramlah Dahmani, sentencing her to two years in prison with immediate enforcement. The ruling was issued under Article 24 of Decree No. 54 of 2022, which criminalizes the dissemination of “false information” via communication networks, a provision that is overly […]

Tunisia must release jailed commentator Sonia Dahmani, end weaponization of Decree 54

We, the undersigned media and human rights organizations, call on the Tunisian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer and political commentator who is being unjustly prosecuted under Tunisia’s repressive Decree-Law 54 for exercising her right to freedom of expression and currently serving nearly five years in prison solely for doing […]

UN event highlights human rights abuses in MENA region under the guise of counter-terrorism

On the sidelines of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council, MENA Rights Group co-organised a side event bringing together civil society actors and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism to discuss concerning trends of counter-terrorism abuse and its negative impact on human rights across the MENA region.

Crackdown on civil society and human rights in Tunisia: arrests and Intimidation in the wake of the 2024 presidential elections

MENA Rights Group joins 7 civil society organisations in expressing alarm over the arrests and harassment of prominent activists and journalists following the Tunisian presidential elections in October 2024 and calling on Tunisian authorities to drop all charges brought against the detainees and respect their fundamental human rights.

Civil society groups call for end to crackdown in Tunisia

MENA Rights Group joins 11 civil society organisations in calling on Tunisian authorities to endthe ongoing crackdown on the rights to free expression and free association and to respect the human rights of everyone in the country, including migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

Tunisie : Solidarité internationale avec les avocat·es contre le retour à la dictature

MENA Rights Group rejoint 25 organisations pour publier une lettre en soutien aux avocat·es et activistes tunisien·nes emprisonné·es, brutalisé·es et malmené·es par le pouvoir dictatorial de Kais Saied et se tient aux côtés de celles et ceux qui se battent pour les droits et libertés en Tunisie.

Lettre conjointe au gouvernement tunisien: n’extradez pas le défenseur des droits humains Zakaria Hannache!

MENA Rights Group est rejoint par 16 ONGs de défense des droits humains pour exhorter le gouvernement tunisien à ne pas extrader le défenseur des droits humains Zakaria Hannache vers l’Algérie, où il risque d’être victime d’atteintes aux droits humains telles que la torture. Hannache est protégé du refoulement par son statut de réfugié, et […]