Beyond Decree 54: Tunisia’s latest measures to silence the press

New York, May 12, 2026 — For years, Tunisia was viewed as one of the few post-Arab Spring success stories for press freedom in the region. In the decade following the 2011 revolution, journalists gained greater space to investigate corruption, criticize authorities, and report more openly than anywhere else in North Africa. Those gains, while incomplete, marked a significant break from decades of authoritarian control over the media. 

By 2026, however, this trajectory has reversed. While President Kais Saied continues to rely on Decree-Law 54, which he forcefully imposed in 2021, to criminalize critical speech and prosecute journalists, authorities are now deploying a wider set of tactics to weaken independent media. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented how Tunisian authorities have used financial crime charges, administrative restrictions, banking freezes, and dissolution proceedings to pressure journalists, media outlets and civil society organisations alike.

Together, these developments point to a broader strategy: not only punishing journalists individually, but dismantling the infrastructure that allows independent journalism to survive.

Decree 54 and the threat of prison

Recent sentences against prominent journalists and commentators highlight how Tunisia continues to rely on Decree Law 54 to criminalize speech. Political commentator and lawyer Sonia Dahmani was sentenced on April 13 to 18 months in prison, while Ghassen Ben Khelifa, editor-in-chief of the local independent newspaper Inhiyez, received a two-year sentence in March 2026.

Although neither is currently behind bars, both remain under constant threat of detention.This legal limbo, where sentences remain enforceable at any moment, has become a powerful tool of intimidation in itself. 

“Tunisian authorities have turned Sonia’s freedom into a threat. By keeping the sentence hanging over her, they’re forcing us into silence, because if we speak up, she [Dahmani] could be taken to prison the next day,” Ramla Dahmani, Sonia’s sister, told CPJ over the phone.

Dahmani has faced at least five separate legal cases, all linked to her media commentary. While some have resulted in prison sentences, at least two cases remain ongoing, meaning she risks facing additional sentences and further prison time in the future.

Ben Khelifa’s prosecution shows how authorities revive older cases to deliver punishment over time. He was first arrested in September 2022 and detained for five days before being released pending investigation. The two-year sentence issued in March 2026 stems from that same case, which has remained open for more than three years and is linked to a social media page authorities allege was connected to him.

In a separate case, journalist Zied el-Heni, editor-in-chief of news site Tunisian Press, was arrested for criticizing the prosecution of freed journalist Khalifa Guesmi on his Facebook page, and sentenced on May 7 to one year in prison.

“My father is being prosecuted simply for doing his job as a journalist—denouncing failures in the judicial system and calling for accountability,” Ela el-Heni, Zied’s daughter, told CPJ.  “The harassment against him was clearly meant to silence his voice and make an example of him to instill self-censorship among journalists.” 

Financial charges to prolong detention

Beyond Decree 54 prosecutions, authorities are increasingly turning to financial crime charges to extend detention periods and deepen judicial harassment. 

The cases of radio journalists Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies exemplify this shift. Both men were arrested alongside Dahmani in May 2024, and initially prosecuted under Decree 54, receiving reduced sentences on appeal. However, rather than being released, they were subjected to new investigations involving allegations of money laundering and illicit enrichment. 

In January 2026, a Tunis court sentenced them to three and a half years in prison, accompanied by hefty fines and asset seizures.

Yesmine Zghidi, Mourad’s daughter, described the charges as retaliatory measures intended to justify continued detention and reframe the journalists as criminals.

“Our lives stopped when our father was arrested,” she told CPJ over the phone.“The hardest part is knowing he did nothing wrong, yet he’s in a cell for no reason.” 

Targeting independent outlets and civil society

Civil society organizations in Tunisia have faced a growing wave of administrative restrictions, funding obstacles, and public smear campaigns, and independent news outlets are not exempt. Toward the end of April 2026, Tunisian authorities suspended the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), a member of the National Dialogue Quartet, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015, for one month, targeting one of the region’s oldest and most prominent rights organizations. 

One of the clearest examples is the move to dissolve Al Khatt, a key player in Tunisia’s independent media landscape for over a decade and the association behind the investigative outlet Inkyfada. A hearing on the government’s dissolution request is scheduled for June. 

Since late 2023, Al Khatt has faced escalating pressure, beginning with repeated banking restrictions that blocked its funds for months at a time, followed by extensive administrative audits, documentation requests, and a one-month suspension of its activities in 2025. 

According to Inkyfada co-founder Malek Khadhraoui, the organization complied with every request while authorities continued escalating pressure.

“The most damaging obstacle has been the banking restrictions,” Khadhraoui told CPJ over the phone. “Transfers related to our projects or services are blocked for months without explanation and no one tells us why or for how long.”

When CPJ interviewed Khadhraoui in 2022, he warned that President Saied was threatening to restrict foreign funding for civil society organisations. Four years later, those threats have evolved into a systematic campaign of financial pressure targeting independent media and NGOs.

“Al Khatt’s battle is not just its own—it is a battle for all civil society,” he said.

Other outlets have faced similar measures. Independent news outlet Tumedia saw a routine international transfer from a donor suddenly become blocked off by the bank, according to a Tumedia journalist who spoke with CPJ on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. 

Authorities requested extensive financial documents, including details about the donor’s own funding sources and despite submitting the needed documents, the funds remain frozen with no clear explanation, the journalist said. 

The outlet’s editor-in-chief, Khaoula Boukrim, has also been targeted by what appears to be a coordinated smear campaign online.

Independent news outlet Nawaat was likewise suspended for one month in October 2025 following a series of investigations, financial and tax controls, and harassment incidents.

Together, these cases suggest a broader strategy. By targeting both journalists and the outlets they work for, authorities are shrinking the space for independent reporting from multiple angles.

What Tunisia’s information ecosystem needs today

“Together, these latest developments show how far Tunisia has drifted from its post-2011 reputation as a regional refuge for freedoms, as authorities now move beyond targeting journalists to dismantling the conditions that allow press freedom to exist,” said CPJ Chief Programs Officer Carlos Martínez de la Serna.

The growing range of measures deployed against the press in Tunisia underscores the need for sustained international pressure on Tunisian authorities.

In 2025, CPJ brought Ramla Dahmani to the European Parliament to advocate for her sister. The body subsequently adopted a resolution expressing concern about Sonia’s imprisonment, as well as the situation in Tunisia.  Sonia Dahmani was released the same day the resolution passed, demonstrating the influence Brussels can have on press freedom in Tunisia.  

CPJ continues to press the leadership of the European Commission and the European External Action Service to build on that momentum and press for the release of Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies. 

CPJ continues to call on Tunisian authorities to immediately end the misuse of Decree 54 to prosecute journalists for their work and public commentary and instead implement the press code Decree 115 when prosecuting journalists.. Authorities should protect independent media organizations and stop efforts to dissolve their parent associations or restrict funding.

CPJ’s email to Tunisian authorities requesting comment did not receive any reply.