Tunisian journalists and activists converged outside a court in Tunis on Tuesday to demand the release of prominent editor‑in‑chief Mohamed Yousfi, who was arrested last Friday as he was preparing to join a radio programme at Express FM.
Yousfi, a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, is currently being questioned by a judge on accusations of illicit enrichment and money laundering – charges that critics allege are fabricated to silence his investigative reporting.
The protest coincided with a court session where Yousfi was being interrogated, underscoring the high stakes for independent media in a country where Saied’s administration has been accused of cracking down on dissent.
“The situation is dark and difficult. Journalists who disturb the authorities are facing legal persecution and fabricated charges,” said Zied Dabbar, head of the journalists’ syndicate SNJT, to reporters. “Today journalists either end up in exile or in prison… But we will resist.”
Yousfi’s arrest has added to a growing list of media figures jailed this year, including Zied Heni, Mourad Zghidi, Borhen Bsaies, and Khaoula Boukrim, who was sentenced in absentia to four years in June.
Since the 2011 uprising that toppled Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, free speech in Tunisia had flourished, but critics argue that Saied’s accumulation of power and subsequent decrees have dismantled democratic safeguards, allowing authorities to target journalists, opposition leaders, and other public figures on trumped‑up charges.
Saied maintains that he is not a dictator and that freedoms are guaranteed in Tunisia, a claim that has been met with skepticism by rights groups and the international community.
The protest signals growing unrest among the press and highlights the precarious state of press freedom in Tunisia, as journalists continue to face legal persecution for their reporting.
