Tunisia, once hailed as the lone democratic success story of the Arab Spring, is now slipping deeper into authoritarian rule as President Kais Saied’s government intensifies its crackdown on opposition voices, human rights defenders, and independent media. Rights groups warn that the country is entering one of its darkest periods in decades, with a surge in politically motivated arrests, reports of torture, and the systematic dismantling of the institutions that once safeguarded democratic freedoms.

More than three years after Saied seized extraordinary powers in 2021-dissolving Parliament, dismissing the prime minister, and ruling by decree-his government has shown no signs of easing its grip. Instead, repression has become entrenched, with new arrests each month and a climate of fear permeating civil society, journalism, and the legal profession. The result is a Tunisia where dissent is criminalized, criticism is punished, and the very people tasked with defending rights are now behind bars themselves.

In recent months, Tunisian authorities have escalated their crackdown, detaining journalists, opposition leaders, lawyers, and activists under broad and vaguely worded laws. These include allegations of “spreading false information,” “undermining state security,” or “conspiring against the state”-charges rights groups say are routinely used to silence dissent.

One of the most alarming cases is that of Sonia Dahmani, a prominent lawyer and outspoken critic of the government. Detained since May after publicly condemning deteriorating prison conditions, Dahmani has become a symbol of Tunisia’s shrinking space for free expression. Her hearing, which was scheduled for mid-November, was abruptly postponed indefinitely, raising further concerns that the government may be seeking to prolong her detention........

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