Key facts
- Tunisia's government is intensifying its crackdown on civil society organizations.
- At least 47 individuals connected with NGOs have faced prosecution since 2024.
- Human rights defender Saadia Mosbah was sentenced to eight years in prison.
- Public anger is rising due to severe power and water shortages amid extreme heat.
- President Kais Saied attributes the shortages to sabotage without evidence.
Tunisia's government is escalating its crackdown on civil society organizations, employing prosecutions, arbitrary detentions, and financial investigations against NGOs and their members, according to Human Rights Watch. The report details that at least 47 individuals connected with NGOs have been prosecuted since 2024, with some facing lengthy detentions exceeding legal limits. Prominent human rights defender Saadia Mosbah received an eight-year prison sentence on charges Human Rights Watch described as abusive.
These actions coincide with mounting public anger over severe power and water shortages, exacerbated by soaring temperatures nearing 50 degrees Celsius. The Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas has implemented rotating power cuts, which in turn disrupt the electrically powered water distribution system. The Tunisian Organisation of Young Doctors has reported an "unprecedented" surge in heat-related deaths, calling for a health emergency.
President Kais Saied has attributed the shortages to deliberate acts of sabotage, without providing evidence. Critics and NGOs describe an "authoritarian drift" and erosion of civil liberties since Saied's July 2021 power consolidation, with numerous arrests of journalists, politicians, and human rights defenders.