Tunisian journalists are facing mounting censorship and an unprecedented surge in threats to press freedom, the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) warned on Tuesday.
In a statement, the union accused authorities of attempting to subjugate and domesticate the media through restrictions, harassment, and systematic exclusion. It said Tunisia, once a cradle of the Arab Spring, is witnessing an alarming retreat from the democratic gains of 2011.
The SNJT denounced the growing practice of barring reporters from politically charged trials and condemned the concealment of information vital to public interest in major national matters.
Journalists from both local and international outlets have reportedly been prevented by police from entering courtrooms to cover trials involving political and media figures, deepening concerns about transparency and judicial independence.
The union also criticised the refusal to grant press accreditations and filming permits to several reporters, describing it as a deliberate attempt to silence independent voices and transform the media into instruments of propaganda.
Rights groups say Tunisia has seen a sharp decline in civil liberties since President Kais Saied’s power consolidation in July 2021, followed by his 2022 decree criminalising the spread of “false news”.
According to Reporters Without Borders, Tunisia dropped 11 places in its 2025 global press freedom index, ranking 129th out of 180 countries.
In recent days, authorities have also suspended two major civil rights organisations—the Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights and the Association of Democratic Women—further tightening the grip on civic space.
The SNJT warned that Tunisia now stands at a dangerous crossroads, where silencing journalists threatens not just the media, but the nation’s fragile democracy itself.