Protests outside Tunis’s Court of First Instance have become increasingly frequent in recent weeks, as activists and civil society groups warn of a rapidly shrinking civic space in Tunisia. Demonstrators have gathered to denounce what they describe as unjust administrative suspensions imposed on non-governmental organisations, amid growing fears that restrictions on freedoms are becoming permanent.
Over the past two years, dozens of NGOs in the North African country have reportedly been suspended for 30 days and threatened with dissolution through court orders. Among the latest organisations targeted are the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), Africa’s oldest human rights organisation and a member of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet that received the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, as well as Lawyers Without Borders (ASF), headquartered in Belgium.
The Al Khatt foundation, which owns the investigative media outlet Inkyfada, has also been suspended and now faces dissolution proceedings. “It all started in October 2025 with a sudden, one-month suspension designed to silence our publications,” Inkyfada editorial director Manel Lassoued told Middle East Eye.
“But we didn’t stop. We kept working and appealed the decision, trusting in our fundamental right to a defence and an impartial justice system,” she added.
Several other organisations, including the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, Aswat Nissa, Nawaat, the International Commission of Jurists and the World Organisation Against Torture, have also reportedly received court-ordered suspensions.
The measures come amid a broader erosion of political and civil freedoms since President Kais Saied consolidated power in July 2021, when he dissolved the government, froze parliament and later introduced a new constitution that expanded presidential authority.
Rights groups say the institutional overhaul has been accompanied by arrests and administrative harassment targeting organisations working on issues such as human rights, migration, corruption and social justice. Around 600 groups are reportedly under investigation.
While Tunisian authorities maintain that the measures are aimed at combating suspicious foreign funding and protecting national interests, organisations such as Amnesty International argue that the justification is being used to intimidate NGOs and restrict civic freedoms further.
According to Amnesty, the campaign has evolved from intimidation, arbitrary restrictions and politically motivated prosecutions into attempts to shut down organisations entirely through the judiciary. Under Tunisia’s Decree-Law No. 88 regulating associations, organisations typically face a three-stage process consisting of a warning, temporary suspension and eventual dissolution.
