In the garden of the independent outlet ‘Nawaat,’ about half a dozen journalists sit smoking, trading jokes and discussing investigations they plan to publish on subjects ranging from the quality of drinking water to conditions of prisons.
They know that any of the stories could lead to prosecution.
A Hard Test
Journalists in Tunisia who enjoyed a burst of press freedom after the 2011 Arab Spring are once again looking over their shoulders in the knowledge their work may land them in prison.
The 2011 overthrow of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali unshackled Tunisia's media, but a decade later President Kais Saied's seizure of sweeping powers began eroding those gains.
Some 20 journalists face criminal charges over their reporting or social media posts, with four already imprisoned, according to Zied Dabbar, head of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, who called the situation unprecedented.
In return, Saied has said he is not a dictator and that journalists are free to criticize authorities and frequently do.
Authorities say prosecutions are impartial judicial matters and that no one is above the law.
The Tunisian prime minister's press office did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Now, independent media face a full-on crackdown, rights groups say, and Tunisia has tumbled more than 50 places in the past five years to 137th in Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index.
Shifting Minefield
“We are living in a grey area, as if we were in a shifting minefield, and we pay the price every day,” said Aymen Rezgui, editor-in-chief of Nawaat, reflecting on how at least limits were clear pre-2011 versus current uncertainty.
Rezgui said Nawaat regularly receives threats — anonymously or from government supporters on social media branding him a traitor — over reporting on issues ranging from prisons to power cuts and water shortages.
The outlet has also faced judicial restrictions, including a government order suspending activities for a month last year.
Journalists in Jail, Others Choose Exile
Many other journalists report similar pressures.
Last month, Mohamed Yousfi, editor-in-chief of independent news website Al-Qatiba, was arrested on his way to a private radio station for a live program. A judge has charged him with illicit enrichment, which he says is a fabrication.
Other jailed journalists and media figures include prominent broadcasters Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies, who were first convicted of spreading false news and insulting the president, and later of tax evasion. They deny the charges and say they have been framed.
For some, leaving Tunisia has become the only option to avoid a similar fate, despite the personal cost.
In December 2025, Khaoula Boukrim, founder of independent website Tumedia and a prominent critic of the president, left for France fearing imminent arrest.
Months later, she was sentenced in absentia to four years in prison over writings critical of the judiciary and a system of governance she described as authoritarian.
Journalist Haythem Mekki has also left Tunisia after receiving a prison sentence following public comments he made denouncing conditions in a hospital morgue.
Beyond prosecutions, journalists are frequently prevented by police from working in public and are sometimes detained for hours, the journalists' syndicate says.
Most ministries no longer have press offices, while several international correspondents have been denied accreditation, further restricting independent coverage.
Political and critical programs have disappeared from many private radio stations. State media has increasingly marginalized dissenting voices, the syndicate says, though the TAP state news agency remains a rare exception, continuing to cover protests, opposition activities and civil society initiatives.
