Tunisian human rights activist Wael Zarrouk was arrested on 7 July 2026 after being flagged during an identity check on the basis of a default judgment issued by the Court of First Instance in Tunis on 13 March 2026. He was sentenced to one year in prison for “attributing unlawful acts to a public official” under Article 128 of the Tunisian Penal Code. The case stems from remarks he made during a 2022 television debate in which he recounted his personal experience of imprisonment and criticized the Tunisian prison system. Following an objection to the default judgment, a hearing to reconsider the case was scheduled before the Tunis Court of Appeal on 30 July 2026.

The case against Ghofrane Binous dates back to 13 May 2024, when the human rights activist received a phone call from the authorities summoning her in her capacity as a former project coordinator at the Mnemty Association, which was at the time subject to judicial proceedings following the arrest of its president, Saadia Mosbah. She was requested to appear before the Central Unit for Combating Complex Financial Crimes of the National Guard in El Aouina on 14 May 2024, as part of an investigation involving allegations of illicit enrichment and money laundering. On 16 May 2024, Ghufran Binnous appeared before the Public Prosecutor at the Tunis 1 Court of First Instance and subsequently before the investigating judge, who questioned her for more than 11 consecutive hours. According to the victim’s testimony, the conditions of the interrogation did not meet recognized legal standards, as she was subjected to negative psychological treatment aimed at influencing her and obtaining confessions. Her health condition was also not taken into consideration, despite her informing the officers and her lawyers having raised the matter.

The space of Le Rio is being subjected to a series of administrative and financial procedures, their main objective: restricting its cultural activities. These procedures include: preventing it from hosting cultural events, suspending public funding, restricting its activities, and imposing additional administrative and regulatory measures. These actions constitute an ongoing pattern that has affected the continuity of its operations as well as its financial and administrative stability. Occupation :Le Rio is a private, cultural institution and an independent cultural venue that hosts film screenings, theatrical performances, cultural events, and civil society activities.

On 11 June 2026, several participants in a peaceful protest organized by the National Union of Unemployed Graduates, in partnership with the National Association of Unemployed Higher Education Graduates, near Kasbah Square were subjected to a series of alleged human rights violations while exercising their right to peaceful assembly. The protest called for the implementation of Law No. 18 of 2025, which concerns the recruitment of unemployed higher-education graduates into the public sector. The reported violations included preventing protesters from reaching the demonstration site, surrounding and containing them, using force to disperse the gathering, physically and verbally assaulting several participants, arresting and questioning some protesters, and preventing documentation of police conduct by confiscating mobile phones and deleting photographs and videos documenting the events.

Jasser Saiid, a 22-year-old second-year university English student, has been under psychiatric care since 2020. On August 20, 2025, he was arrested at his home following a raid carried out by the counter-terrorism unit in El Aouina. His family was not informed of his whereabouts, and his lawyer was denied access during the investigation. During police custody, he was forced to sign statements without being allowed to read them, which negatively impacted his mental health. He remained in custody for 15 days before a detention order was issued, placing him in prison for three months, further worsening his condition. On January 27, 2026, a psychiatric report confirmed that he lacked criminal responsibility and required compulsory hospitalization. Accordingly, the public prosecutor at the judicial counter-terrorism pole of the Tunis Court of First Instance decided to drop the charges due to the absence of criminal liability and ordered mandatory psychiatric hospitalization. However, at the time of documentation, this decision had not been implemented, and Jasser Saïd remains detained in prison.

Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek, a lawyer, human rights defender, and member of the defence committee representing political detainees, is currently facing seven criminal cases under article 24 of decree-law no. 54. These proceedings arise from her acts of solidarity, legal defence, and public denunciation of violations committed against political detainees in what is publicly referred to as the “conspiracy case”. The repeated judicial proceedings brought against her, particularly in connection with the exercise of her professional duties as legal counsel and her public human rights advocacy, raise serious concerns regarding judicial harassment, restrictions on freedom of expression, and interference with the right to defence and fair trial guarantees.