Tunisia authorities criticized over crackdown on peaceful protesters and opposition amid deepening crisis News
Dodos photography, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Tunisia authorities criticized over crackdown on peaceful protesters and opposition amid deepening crisis

Tunisian authorities have intensified their crackdown on peaceful dissent and opposition voices, targeting marginalized communities and activists under vague legal provisions, Amnesty International said in a report released Tuesday.

Titled “We were only asking for our rights and dignity,” the report documents how, between February 2020 and January 2025, at least 90 peaceful protesters, unionists, and environmental activists were arrested or prosecuted for protesting poor working conditions, pollution, or lack of water. Most were charged under ambiguous “obstruction” provisions in Tunisia’s Penal Code.

The Amnesty report highlighted how Tunisia’s laws are used to silence community protests. In Sfax, police pressured female forestry workers to pledge not to protest after a sit-in.

Amnesty documented legal violations in five of nine cases reviewed, including a lack of fair trial guarantees. It urged Tunisian authorities to drop all charges linked to peaceful protest and repeal or amend Articles 107 and 136 of the Penal Code.

Sara Hashash, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said:

The arbitrary application of these vaguely worded ‘obstruction’ legal provisions, coupled with fair trial violations, violates Tunisia’s international human rights obligations and sends a chilling message to anyone daring to speak out for their rights.

Amnesty emphasized that peaceful assemblies, even those causing temporary disruption, cannot be criminalized under international law.

This clampdown on local activism occurs amid a broader erosion of civil liberties. In April, a Tunisian court sentenced 40 opposition figures—including former officials, journalists, and activists—to prison terms ranging from 13 to 66 years in a controversial “Conspiracy Case,” using counter-terrorism laws. Among them was Kamal Bin Youssef, sentenced to 66 years. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the proceedings as politically motivated and deeply flawed. The case is emblematic of a wider trend. According to HRW, arbitrary detention has become a core instrument of state policy in Tunisia. Dozens remain jailed without charge or trial, with some beyond the 14-day limit set by law, often without warrants or access to legal counsel.

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