Tunisia, once celebrated as the sole success story of the Arab Spring, is now facing mounting alarm from civil society groups as the government dismantles key institutions of transparency and oversight. The latest casualty in this democratic rollback is the covert closure of the Access to Information Authority (INAI), an independent body created to safeguard citizens’ right to information. The move has sparked outrage among activists, journalists, and democracy advocates, who warn that Tunisia is sliding back into authoritarian practices that threaten the country’s fragile post-revolution gains.

The closure of INAI was never officially announced. Instead, its offices were quietly shuttered earlier this year, leaving little trace of its existence. According to IWatch, the Tunisian chapter of Transparency International, the authority’s work had already been paralyzed long before. Its interim director was suspended more than a year ago, and the government had gradually undermined its functions. Without a public statement or explanation, the shutdown might have gone unnoticed if civil society groups had not raised the alarm.

IWatch described INAI as “the last bastion of transparency in Tunisia,” warning that its closure was not an isolated case but part of a systematic campaign to erode transparency. “Little by little, the space for transparency, civil society, and countervailing powers is being restricted by the ruling power. The entire civic space is being gradually reduced in Tunisia,” said IWatch executive director Talel Ferchichi.

Ferchichi emphasized that IWatch regularly collaborated with the authority and submitted numerous requests for access to information as part of its work. The suspension of INAI has therefore cut off one of the few remaining institutional pathways for civil society to hold authorities accountable.........

© Blitz