Rabat – During the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council on September 12, Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada al-Nashif called out Tunisia’s human rights record, listing it as one of the countries requiring “urgent action.”

Since President Kais Saied’s takeover and usurping of political power in the country, observers have been insistent on calling out violations in the country, ranging from censorship of dissidents, to the stripping of powers from state institutions.

“In Tunisia, concerns are mounting regarding executive interference with the judiciary, including summary dismissals and the launching of criminal proceedings against judges,” al-Nashif said during her statement.

She mentioned that civilians, including journalists, find themselves referred to military courts, which are failing to meet international standards for fair trials. The UN official also said arbitrary travel bans have been targeting members of the opposition.

“Noting the adoption of a new Constitution, OHCHR urges Tunisia to hold credible and inclusive parliamentary elections, with meaningful participation of the media and civil society, and we are ready to support through our presence in Tunis,” she concluded.

Saied’s power grab

Major concerns for Tunisia’s human rights situation and democratic backsliding began in 2021, when President Kais Saied began taking away powers from the country’s legislative and judicial branches, prompting a political crisis that goes on to this day in the country.

On July 25, 2021, Saied suspended Parliament and dismissed the country’s prime minister. He then announced that he’d be ruling the country by decree, reconfiguring the country’s Supreme Court, and laying out a plan to revise the constitution.

For Tunisia’s young democracy, this was a particularly big threat. Barely a decade after the 2011 revolution that set in motion the country’s democratic transition, its institutions and system remain understandably fragile. In the cases of similar young democracies, power grabs such as Saied’s carry a heavy risk of democratic backsliding.

In fact, various polls show that Tunisians see Saied’s takeover as a coup, though experts make the distinction that it’s a constitutional one rather than a classic military coup.

Hind Ahmed Zaki, assistant professor of political science at the University of Connecticut, said that the Tunisian president is looking to turn the country into a French-inspired presidency, where the president has more extensive powers over parliament.

In 2021, Saied said he would “not turn into a dictator,” but critics noted that he sacked the head of state television, purged dozens of senior officials, and even closed down the office of Al Jazeera in the country.

In early 2022, he dissolved Tunisia’s Supreme Judicial Council, another move that sparked criticism of undermining the country’s young democracy. The dissolution also fueled outrage among the country’s judges and legal professionals, who are still protesting the presidential encroachment on the judiciary’s powers.

Read also: G7 Countries Call on Tunisian President to End Country’s Constitutional Crisis

Violations Against Journalists

As the separation of powers and Tunisia’s young democratic transition continued to be rolled back, international and regional organizations  denounced Saied’s treatment of journalists.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) said in a May 2022 report that the exceptional measures declared by the president provided “fertile ground for the authorities to expand their violations against journalistic work.”

The report said that authorities have targeted journalists through smear campaigns, intimidation, and threats. In April 2022, Amer Ayyad became the first journalist to be tried before a military court, when he was sentenced to four months in prison.

In June, Tunisian police arrested journalist Salah Atiyah, after he mentioned that the president was seeking to close the headquarters of the powerful UGTT trade union.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and JHR have pointed to a presidential decree that legitimized restrictive measures against the press, granting the executive branch the authority to regulate the media.

“This unacceptably opened the door wide to restricting freedom of the press and criminalizing the circulation of information,” the report said, documenting 14 arrests of Tunisian journalists since April 2022

A Success Story Cut Short?

Many have referred to Tunisia as the Arab Spring’s “sole success story,” after other countries either saw significant democratic backsliding or slid into civil war, but recent human rights violations come as a grim reminder to some that the democratic process is tougher than it sounds.

For Zaki, it is a sign that real political change goes much deeper than elections and procedural changes. Tunisia was often described as a success story, which is now in jeopardy in light of Saied’s actions.

However, despite the worrying signs some think it is too early to tell if Tunisia’s democracy is truly beyond saving Some expect that the president’s usurping of power could motivate civil parties to rally more to protect civil freedoms and the powers of elected representatives.

Whether recent developments lead to one outcome or the other, observers agree that this period represents a vital crossroads in Tunisia’s journey towards solidifying its democracy.