In a February 10, 2026 news release, Human Rights Watch says Tunisian authorities are arbitrarily detaining prominent lawyer and human rights defender Ahmed Souab, who was convicted on terrorism-related charges linked to remarks he made outside court while representing defendants in the “conspiracy against state security” case. Souab was sentenced on October 31, 2025 to …
Maria Joshua, “Justifications of Repression in Autocracies: An Empirical Analysis of Morocco and Tunisia, 2000–2010.” Contemporary Politics, vol. 30, no.1 (2023): 108–36 Summary: How do autocrats communicate about repression? Previous studies have analysed how autocratic officials justify the repression of large-scale protests to avoid backlash effects. However, we know much less about how everyday repression …
Addison K. Emig and Michael J. Schumacher, “Politicizing Terror: The (Ab)Use of Counterterrorism Law for Authoritarian Ends in Tunisia.” Democratization, vol. 32, no. 2 (2024): 561–87. Summary: This article analyses Tunisian President Kais Saied’s abuse of counterterrorism law and his culpability in the country’s democratic backsliding. Following his election in 2019, Saied, with a split …
Tunisian lawyers played a key role in the 2011 uprising and its aftermath, using political lawyering to gain symbolic influence and act as watchdogs over the new government.