Tunisian authorities have ordered the Human Rights League (LTDH) to suspend its activities for one month, a move rights advocates say is part of an expanding campaign against independent civil society. The LTDH, founded in 1976 and one of the region’s oldest human rights organizations, was among the groups that shared the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize and has been a persistent critic of President Kais Saied.
Officials had already barred the LTDH for months from inspecting prisons in several cities, and the organisation said the latest suspension reflects “a wider pattern of increasingly systematic curbs on civil society and on free and independent voices.” Human rights groups have warned that Tunisia has been drifting toward authoritarian rule since Saied concentrated powers in 2021.
The suspension follows earlier actions in October, when authorities froze the activities of several other prominent organisations, including the Democratic Women and the Economic and Social Rights Forum. Critics see these measures as part of a broader effort to restrict opposition, media and civic groups.
Saied, 68, suspended parliament in 2021 and has since governed largely by decree. He rejects accusations that he is seeking to become a dictator, insisting that freedoms are protected and that no one is above the law. He has repeatedly cautioned that foreign funding of NGOs can pose a threat to national sovereignty.
Tunisia was long viewed as the most successful outcome of the Arab Spring, but many observers now express concern that the country’s democratic gains are eroding under the current government’s restrictions on dissent and independent organizations.