The law powering Tunisia’s crackdown on the press

New York City, December 19, 2025 – Since President Kais Saied’s consolidation of power in 2021, Tunisia’s press freedom landscape has narrowed sharply. A single piece of legislation—Decree-Law No. 2022-54 on combating “crimes related to information and communication systems”—has become the legal hammer used to silence critics, criminalize routine reporting, and imprison at least five journalists. 

The release of lawyer and commentator Sonia Dahmani in late 2025 offered a brief moment of relief in Tunisia’s escalating crackdown on dissent. But even as Dahmani walked free, her legal battles continued, and Tunisia’s courts pressed ahead with prosecutions under Decree-Law 54, keeping other journalists behind bars and opening new cases against them. 

Dahmani: free, but still under threat

The release of Dahmani, who the Committee to Protect Journalists honored with its 2025 International Press Freedom Award, followed months of international pressure and mounting criticism from human-rights groups after she was repeatedly sentenced under Decree-Law 54 for televised and radio commentary criticizing discrimination against migrants and the country’s political trajectory.

But her freedom remains conditional. She still faces multiple open cases, some carrying possible sentences of 10 and 20 years. Courts have not dropped her earlier convictions, leaving her under ongoing judicial scrutiny. Her sister Ramla remains sentenced in absentia for defending her online. 

Her November 2025 release, just hours after a European Parliament resolution condemning her imprisonment, was welcomed by press freedom advocates—who nevertheless insisted that all remaining charges be dropped. Her ordeal continues to symbolize Tunisia’s willingness to treat political speech as a criminal offense.

Zghidi and Bsaies: more than 500 days in detention

While Dahmani is out, radio journalists Mourad Zghidi, and Borhen Bsaies remain in prison more than 500 days after their arrest. Despite the completion of an eight-month sentence issued earlier in 2025, the pair were not released. Instead, prosecutors opened new investigations, effectively extending their imprisonment indefinitely.

On December 11, the criminal chamber of the Primary Court in Tunis reviewed their case after a hearing lasting more than three hours. According to the defense, the new charges relate to alleged tax evasion, following charges of money laundering and financial concealment dating back to December 2024. 

The defense team requested the appointment of a reporting judge to verify the assets and funds attributed to the defendants, and sought their provisional release to allow them to pursue a tax settlement. The court reserved its decision on the requests, which is expected in the coming days.

Chadha Hadj Mbarek: five-year sentence and declining health

Less publicized, but equally alarming is the case of digital media producer Chadha Hadj Mbarek, who remains jailed on a five-year sentence linked to her work with a content production company. Rights groups report that her health has deteriorated in detention and that she has limited access to medical care.

Boughaleb: new sentence despite contested evidence

Veteran broadcaster Mohamed Boughaleb, released in February 2025, was issued a new two-year prison sentence in July 2025 under Article 24 of Decree-Law 54. The conviction was based on a Facebook post his lawyers argued he did not write. The defence presented expert digital analysis contesting the claims, but the court proceeded regardless.

This comes after Boughaleb served an eight-month prison sentence after being convicted of defamation for his social media posts and statements on television and radio.

A clear pattern of repression

Adopted in 2022, Decree-Law 54 has been used to target activists, lawyers, commentators, and ordinary citizens, in addition to journalists. Its vague provisions around “false news,” “rumors,” and “harm to public security” has given prosecutors broad discretion to criminalize commentary, satire, and investigative reporting.

Taken together, the five cases reveal a clear and deliberate pattern. Authorities move quickly against critics after a public comment or broadcast, launching criminal proceedings under Decree-Law 54 or similar security statutes, imposing detention or harsh penalties, then opening additional cases to prolong pressure even after terms are served.

According to the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), at least 39 cases have been brought against journalists for their work since May 2023, including under the cybercrime law and the counterterrorism law. Between April 2024 and April 2025, 10 prison sentences were issued against journalists, of which six were implemented, one suspended, and three were under appeal. It also recorded 32 prosecutions of journalists outside standard professional law frameworks, including Decree-Law 54 and others. As of December 1, CPJ counted at least three journalists who are still in prison for their reporting or expression.

At the same time, journalists have increasingly been barred from covering hearings, while trials are frequently closed and defence rights restricted. The chilling effect extends far beyond those behind bars.

“This is not a temporary restriction. It is a comprehensive attempt to stifle freedoms, to strike at the heart of journalism, at the livelihoods of its workers, and at the public’s right to know,” Ziad Debbar, the head of Tunisia’s National Syndicate of Journalists, said during a recent symposium to mark International Human Rights Day.

This does more than punish individuals — it has shaped Tunisia’s entire media ecosystem. Journalists have described increased self-censorship, while editors report delaying or canceling politically sensitive stories.

Dahmani’s release shows that pressure works — but the wider landscape is deteriorating, not improving. Tunisia risks cementing a system where independent journalism is functionally impossible and where the price of dissent is years of legal retaliation.

CPJ continues to call for the unconditional release of all journalists jailed for their word, the dismissal of all Decree-Law 54 cases, including those still pending against Dahmani, the repeal or fundamental reform of the law, and transparent, public judicial proceedings that uphold the right to fair trial.

Tunisia once inspired the region with its openness. Today, the fight is to keep its information space from closing altogether.