"Where Are We Headed?" — Tunisians Are Asking Out Loud
Two weeks. In that span, Tunisia convicted a lawyer for the third time in two years, blocked journalists from covering a courthouse protest, and moved to dissolve the country's last independent investigative outlet. On May 19, cameras were turned away. On May 25, the verdict came. On June 1, the dissolution hearing reconvenes.
Underneath it all, the Central Bank's reserves fell 8.2% while the government confirmed a $3.7 billion exceptional loan to cover its budget gap. The institutions that would normally scrutinize this are the same ones being dissolved. The slogan from May 16 — "the people are hungry and the prisons are full" — aged well.
Sonia Dahmani Convicted Again — Two Years for Criticizing Prison Conditions
On May 25, a Tunis court convicted lawyer and commentator Sonia Dahmani of "spreading false news likely to harm a public official" under Decree Law 54 — sentencing her to two years in prison over a 2023 radio interview in which she criticized prison conditions. She remains free pending appeal.
This is her third conviction in two years — 18 months in May 2024, a further 18 months in April 2026, and now two more years. Combined sentences approaching five years, each filed under a different legal instrument, ensuring no single appeal can resolve the whole. The CPJ noted the prosecution was applied retroactively to a radio broadcast that predates the law's 2022 enactment.
Cameras Turned Away — Journalists Blocked from Covering Bar Association Protest
On May 19, reporters and photojournalists were physically barred from covering a Tunisian Bar Association protest at the Tunis Court of First Instance. The SNJT condemned the move as an "unjustified restriction on press freedom." Six days later, the same court system handed Sonia Dahmani her third conviction. Unlike Decree 54 or Article 86, blocking cameras requires no charge, no prosecutor, no verdict — only someone in a uniform deciding the event will not be recorded.
Inkyfada's Parent Organization Faces Dissolution — Hearing Adjourned to June 1
The dissolution hearing for Al Khatt — publisher of Inkyfada, Tunisia's leading investigative outlet and an ICIJ partner — was adjourned on May 11 to June 1. Since 2023, authorities have blocked its bank transfers for up to seven months at a time, suspended its activities, and now petitioned a court for permanent closure under Decree-Law 88 of 2011 — the very post-revolution law designed to protect civil society. HRW called it "a complete inversion of legislative intent." As of May 31, Inkyfada continues to publish.
"Beyond Decree 54" — The State's Expanding Legal Toolkit
CPJ's late-May dispatch "Beyond Decree 54" maps an expanding legal arsenal: Decree 54 for online critics, Article 86 of the Telecommunications Code for journalists (up to two years, no press code protections), the Military Justice Code for national security cases, and counterterrorism statutes for opposition figures. The pattern is consistent — when one instrument produces too light a sentence, the state reaches for a heavier one from an adjacent code. The press code (Decree-Law 115 of 2011) remains on the books. Courts simply choose not to apply it. The Tunisian Bar Association has called this "an abuse of legislative concurrence."
Voices from the International Community
Tunisia fell to 137th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2026 World Press Freedom Index, down from 129th the previous year. RSF cited the expansion of prosecution beyond Decree 54 to include telecommunications and military justice codes as the primary driver of the decline.
Published a dispatch confirming that Tunisian authorities are threatening to dissolve Al Khatt — the parent organization of its Tunisian partner, Inkyfada. ICIJ described Inkyfada as having "produced a series of landmark investigations that exposed corruption and rights abuses," and called on the Tunisian government to drop the dissolution proceedings.
CPJ's May 25 dispatch on Dahmani referenced the blocking of press coverage at the Bar Association protest, describing it as evidence that the government's approach is now "operating outside its own legal framework" — suppression without the formality of law.
Issued a formal statement in May calling on Tunisia to "end repressive measures against civil society and media," specifically naming the suspension of LTDH and ASF, the prosecution of refugee aid workers, and the pattern of judiciary use against journalists. The UN's call has not produced a public response from Tunis.
The Arithmetic of a July Repayment: BCT Reserves Fall, Exceptional Loan Confirmed
Tunisia's Central Bank reserves fell 8.2% to $8.1 billion in May 2026, as the government confirmed it will seek a $3.7 billion exceptional loan from the BCT — the same mechanism used in 2024 and 2025, now larger. The €750M July Eurobond is under six weeks away. The BCT's own 2025 profit fell 15.4% — the year it was lending the most. No IMF program. Subsidies, payroll and interest consume 87% of state revenue. The arithmetic is publicly visible; the institutions that would scrutinize it are being dissolved.
| Indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| BCT forex reserves | $8.1 B — down 8.2% |
| BCT exceptional loan to Treasury | $3.7 B (2026) |
| July Eurobond | €750M — under 6 weeks |
| BCT 2025 net profit | Down 15.4% vs. 2024 |
| IMF program | None |
| Subsidy/payroll/interest as % of revenue | 87% |
1,000 Dead and Brussels Still Hasn't Answered
The Mediterranean death toll crossed 1,000 confirmed dead and missing in 2026, with the Central Mediterranean route accounting for ~765 deaths — a 150% increase over the same period in 2025. A single shipwreck near Sfax on March 30 left 39 dead or missing. President Saied's demand for a revision of the 2023 EU-Tunisia migration MoU — filed in late April — has received no public response from Brussels. Italy continues near-monthly visits to Tunis. The silence has a cost that is being paid in the water between Sfax and Lampedusa.
In Their Own Words
Expert Perspectives on Tunisia & North Africa
A curated roundup of recent analysis from leading research institutions.
"Tunisia Needs Both Bread and Freedom"
The Council's February analysis reads, from the vantage point of late May, as an early warning that has now been confirmed. The report argued that the conditions that produced the 2011 revolution — economic exclusion combined with political repression — are more concentrated now than they were then. The May 16 protest, Sonia Dahmani's third conviction, and the BCT's declining profit are the data points that make that argument concrete.
"Beyond Decree 54: Tunisia's Latest Measures to Silence the Press"
The essential document for understanding this edition's lead stories. CPJ maps the expansion of Tunisia's press-suppression toolkit from Decree 54 to the telecommunications code, military justice statutes, and now direct physical exclusion from protest coverage. The dispatch is the first systematic account of the full legal arsenal as it currently stands.
"Tunisia Suspends Rights Groups That Shaped Its Democracy"
HRW's definitive report on the LTDH and ASF suspensions, confirming that all suspended organizations have now lost their court appeals. The report establishes the legal theory the government is using — inverted application of Decree-Law 88 — and documents the pattern across all 20+ suspended organizations. Essential background for the June 1 Al Khatt hearing.
On the Radar
| → | June 1 — Al Khatt/Inkyfada dissolution hearing. The court reconvenes. Outcome could be lift, renewal, or permanent dissolution. |
| → | TCR refugee aid workers verdict. Ruling imminent. An adverse decision sets a binding precedent criminalizing humanitarian work. |
| → | Ghannouchi health. No update from prison authorities. Family's request for independent medical evaluation still unanswered. |
| → | Mediterranean. Summer crossings rising. EU response to Tunisia's MoU revision demand now over a month overdue. |