Tunisia / Middle East & North Africa

New York, Nov 5, 2026 – The Committee to Protect Journalists was joined Thursday by 16 other civil society organizations in calling on Tunisian authorities to immediately release imprisoned journalist Zied el-Heni and end the judicial harassment against him. The statement highlights three separate cases against El-Heni linked to his journalism and critical commentary, including…

New York, November 2, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Sudanese authorities to undo a new law making online and media publishing a state security crime. Under this updated law, journalists could face life in prison or the death penalty for simply doing their work. Furthermore, CPJ urges the government to ensure that cybercrime…

New York, October 28, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists demands the immediate release of Tunisian journalist Zied el-Heni, and the overturning of his four-year prison sentence. El-Heni was wrongfully convicted on Tuesday  on terrorism charges for his reporting, and refusal to reveal confidential sources. “Sentencing Zied el-Heni to four years in prison on terrorism charges for carrying…

New York, October 8, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to immediately release blogger Hajer Awadi and overturn her 26-month prison sentence over a social media post concerning a security operation. On September 30, the misdemeanor chamber of the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced Awadi to eight months for “praising and…

New York, September 24, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday demanded that Tunisian authorities hold accountable those responsible for detaining and allegedly mistreating three local journalists from the independent news website Nawaat.  “Tunisian security forces’ alleged use of deception to lure journalists into detention, attempts to access their phones without a judicial warrant, and threats…

New York, September 16, 2026—Tunisian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release and drop all charges against journalist Zied el-Heni, who is serving a one-year prison sentence and faces two separate other criminal cases, including a new case where he is facing four terrorism-related charges that his family says could expose him to life imprisonment, the…

New York, September 7, 2026 —Tunisian authorities must immediately release journalist Mohamed Yousfi, a well-known critic of President Kais Saied’s government, and end its use of financial crime allegations to target members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Friday, September 4, police from the financial crimes unit arrested Yousfi, editor-in-chief…

In Tunisia, at least four journalists and commentators sentenced to prison over the last year remain free, trying to work and carry on with their daily lives while knowing they could be arrested and taken into custody. Two others are in exile, unable to return home without risking imprisonment. Whether they will eventually be forced…

New York, August 31, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Tunisian authorities to immediately release journalists Zied el-Heni, Mourad Zghidi, and Borhen Bsaies, as reports of prisoner deaths amid an extreme heatwave raise grave concerns about life-threatening conditions in the country’s overcrowded prisons. At least 10 prisoners have died in recent weeks, as temperatures…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined partner organizations on Thursday to call for an end to the unjust imprisonment of journalists and other human rights defenders in Tunisia. In a joint statement to Tunisian authorities, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), along with CPJ, and 45 other organizations denounced Tunisia’s ongoing crackdown on freedom…