The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has condemned the Tunisian government’s escalating repression of lawyers, warning that arrests and prosecutions of legal professionals for exercising free speech or defending politically sensitive clients pose a grave threat to judicial independence and fair trial rights. Central to the concern is the arrest of prominent lawyer Ahmed Souab and the harsh sentencing of Sonia Dahmani, both seen as symbols of Tunisia’s shrinking space for dissent. Since President Kais Saied assumed sweeping powers in 2021, he has dissolved the independent High Judicial Council, sacked judges, and increasingly used vaguely worded laws like Decree 54 to target critics. Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have denounced these moves as dismantling key institutional checks, with civilians now even being tried in military courts. The OHCHR urged Tunisia to protect lawyers from intimidation and uphold international standards, though the government has yet to respond.