After the ouster of a longtime autocrat in 2011, Tunisia held a series of free multiparty elections, and citizens enjoyed considerable political rights and civil liberties under a constitution promulgated in 2014. However, corruption, economic challenges, security threats, and unresolved problems related to gender equality and transitional justice remained obstacles to full democratic consolidation. Following his election in 2019, President Kaïs Saïed worked to transform the political system and expand his own executive authority. In 2021, Saïed invoked emergency powers and unilaterally dismissed the legislature and the prime minister. Since then, his administration has undermined Tunisia’s other institutions, including the judiciary and the electoral commission, and engaged in campaigns of legal persecution against his opponents.

• The authorities’ attempts to eliminate dissent continued during the year, with dozens of opposition politicians and civil society figures subjected to mass trials on vague security-related charges under the penal code and a 2015 counterterrorism law. A court sentenced one group of 37 people to heavy prison terms in April, and these were largely upheld on appeal in November, with the harshest sentence set at 45 years in prison. In a second mass trial, a group of 21 people were sentenced in July to between 12 and 35 years in prison; appeals in that case were pending at year’s end. Both proceedings featured numerous violations of due process; a number of defendants had fled abroad and were tried in absentia, while others were held in pretrial detention beyond the 14-month maximum allowed by law. Some defense lawyers involved in the cases had been detained and sentenced to prison themselves.
• The government took additional steps to reduce transparency, control media coverage, and suppress critical speech. The National Authority for Access to information (INAI), which had been established in 2017 as part of the country’s democratic reforms, was disbanded and closed in August. Journalists continued to encounter harassment and the threat of jail time in response to their work, and two broadcast journalists who had been arrested for their critical commentary in May 2024 remained in prison at year’s end. In October, a social media user was sentenced to death for nonviolent posts that called for protests and the release of political prisoners; he had been held in pretrial detention since early 2024, and received a presidential pardon after his sentencing.
• Despite the growing risks associated with public demonstrations, Tunisians participated in multiple antigovernment protests during the year, and the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) organized a major rally in August amid escalating state pressure on the historically influential group. In December, the UGTT announced plans for a general strike in January 2026, but internal divisions over its leadership left the plans in doubt at year’s end.
• As in previous years, Tunisian authorities arbitrarily expelled thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries, and used harassment and service restrictions to compel others to seek repatriation. Civic groups, including those that provided support to migrants and refugees, faced regulatory harassment and the threat of suspension or criminal charges.

This report has been abridged for Freedom in the World 2026 due to ongoing budget constraints. Freedom in the World is entirely funded by nongovernmental sources such as private foundations, corporations, and individuals like you. Please consider making a donation to support future editions of this vital resource.

For additional background information, see the reports from the 2024 and 2025 editions of Freedom in the World.