L4L, together with 38 international legal and human rights organisations, condemns the Tunisian authorities’ systematic and escalating campaign of intimidation, prosecution and retaliation against the legal profession, the judiciary and independent civil society.
The statement documents a pattern of interference that has deepened significantly since President Saïed’s consolidation of executive power in 2021 and the summary dismissal of 57 judges and prosecutors by presidential decree in 2022.
Attacks on the bar association
The undersigned organisations express particular concern at the authorities’ efforts to obstruct and delegitimise the Tunisian National Bar Association (ONAT). Following an extraordinary general assembly on 1 May 2026 — convened to address deteriorating conditions in the courts and threats to judicial independence — ONAT announced a mobilisation plan including regional strikes and a nationwide general strike planned for 18 June 2026. Rather than engaging with these demands, the Tunis prosecutor sought to nullify the assembly’s decisions in court. The undersigned organisations consider this a direct attack on the legal profession’s institutional role in defending judicial independence, fair trial guarantees and the rule of law.
Lawyers targeted for their professional duties
Eight lawyers are currently deprived of their liberty in Tunisia, including a former Bar President. A further five have been forced into exile and twelve are subject to ongoing judicial harassment. The case of Ayachi Hammami, currently serving a five-year sentence following his conviction for representing defendants in the so-called “conspiracy against state security” case, illustrates the broader pattern. UN experts have described his prosecution as a direct threat to the integrity and fairness of legal proceedings in Tunisia. Sonia Dahmani received a further two-year conviction on 25 May 2026, following eighteen months of pre-trial detention and a prior conviction on appeal — all in connection with public statements made on television and radio. Chawki Tabib, former President of the Tunis Bar Association and former head of the National Anti-Corruption Authority, was convicted on 21 May 2026 to ten years in prison, with his assets frozen in April 2026. Dalila Msaddak faces seven separate investigations under Decree-Law No. 54, all arising from her work as defence counsel in the conspiracy case.
Reprisals against judges and civil society
The statement also documents the prosecution of Judge Anas Hmedi, President of the Association of Tunisian Magistrates, convicted to one year in prison for actions taken in his capacity as head of the association. The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers has described the proceedings against him as an “evident reprisal.” Over the past year, suspension orders have been issued against at least 25 civil society organisations, including Avocats Sans Frontières, the International Commission of Jurists, OMCT, and the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights.
Call
The undersigned organisations call on the Tunisian authorities to immediately end all harassment and arbitrary detention of lawyers, judges and civil society actors; drop all proceedings brought solely for the exercise of professional duties or human rights; quash the conviction of Judge Hmedi; release Ayachi Hammami, Chawki Tabib and all others arbitrarily detained; lift suspension orders against civil society organisations; and bring Tunisian law and practice into conformity with its international human rights obligations.
Signatories:
Amnesty International
Avocats Sans Frontières
Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (Conseil des Barreaux Européens, CCBE)
Defense Commission – Barcelona Bar Association
Deutscher Anwaltverein (German Bar Association)
DSF-AS Défense Sans Frontières-Avocats Solidaires
Euromed Rights
European Association for Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA)
European Democratic Lawyers (AED)
Foundation International Day of the Endangered Lawyer
GeBehatokia, Basque Observatory of Human Rights
Human Rights Watch
Indian Association of Lawyers (IAL)
Institute for the Rule of Law of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA-IROL)
International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
International Association of Judges (IAJ-UIM)
International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL)
International Association of Russian Advocates
International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
International Commission of Jurists
International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD)
L’Institut des droits humains du barreau de Bruxelles
L’Observatoire des Avocats (http://www. IDHBB.org)
Law Society of England and Wales
Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L)
Legal Centre Lesvos
Medel -Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés, representing 24 associations of judges and prosecutors
National Union of People’s Lawyer (NUPL), Philippines
New York City Bar Association
Ordre des avocats de Genève (ODAGE)
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
PEN Norway
Progressive Lawyers Association, Turkey (ÇHD)
Republikanische Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein (RAV)
The Lawyers for the Rule of Law, USA
The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)
Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao
Vereinigung Demokratischer Jurist:innen (VDJ), Germany
