Tunisia suspends leading rights group for a month, raising concerns over a widening crackdown on civil society under President Kais Saied. [Getty]
The Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize winner along with three other groups, has had its operations suspended for a month, its president said Saturday.
The LTDH said in a statement overnight it had been “informed” of the suspension, calling the measure “dangerous and arbitrary”, but said the ban was pending official confirmation.
LTDH head Bassem Trifi told AFP news agency the order had been “issued by the Tunis court of first instance”, and that the group will appeal.
“We oppose this decision and we will lodge an appeal. We will continue our struggle for rights and freedoms,” Trifi said.
The LTDH was told the ban was imposed because of “administrative irregularities”, he said, adding that similar accusations were used to target other NGOs in 2025 with temporary suspensions.
By autumn last year, at least 17 NGOs had received month-long suspension orders.
The LTDH was part of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in the North African country’s democratic transition.
Tunisia emerged from the Arab Spring as a democracy, but elected President Kais Saied staged a sweeping power grab in 2021 and rights groups have since criticised a major rollback of freedoms.
They included two of the country’s best-known organisations, the Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights (FTDES) and the Association of Democratic Women (ATFD).
The World Organisation Against Torture’s (OMCT) office in Tunisia was also suspended, as were independent media outlets Inkyfada and Nawaat.
Since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, the issue of NGO funding has been a recurring topic of debate.
Saied has accused NGOs of receiving suspicious funds, “huge sums” from abroad, which he has called “blatant interference” in Tunisian affairs.
