Tunisia suspends rights group amid widening repression

A Tunisian rights group that was a co-winner of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize has been told to cease activities for a month by authorities.

The suspension of the Human Rights League (LTDH) comes amid warnings from rights organizations that the country has been sliding closer to authoritarian rule since President Kais Saied seized additional powers in 2021.

Growing crackdown on rights groups in Tunisia

LDTH was founded in 1976, making it one of the oldest rights groups in the Arab world and Africa. It has long been seen as a vital force in human rights advocacy in Tunisia. 

The group, which has been an outspoken critic of Saied, had already for several months been barred from visiting prisons in several cities to inspect conditions.

The organization was among four ‌Tunisian civil society groups that were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025 as the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for ​their role in ⁠supporting the country's democratic transition.

LDTH condemned the suspension, saying the move was part of a "wider pattern of increasingly systematic curbs on civil society and on free and independent voices."

In a sign of what critics see as growing authoritarianism, Tunisia suspended several other prominent groups in October, including the Democratic Women and the Economic and Social Rights Forum.

What is the situation under Saied?

Saied, 68, has ruled by decree since he suspended parliament  in 2021

He has denied that he is seeking to be a dictator and says freedoms are guaranteed in Tunisia, but that no one is above the law, regardless of ​their name or position.

He has often referred to foreign funding, which rights groups sometimes rely on, as a threat to the country.

Tunisia was once hailed as the only democratic success story to result from the Arab Spring pro-democracy wave 15 years ago, but it is now under fire for its growing restrictions on the opposition, media and civil society.

Edited by: Sean Sinico