Tunisia Accused of Shutting Down Civil Society Through Sweeping Crackdown

Tunisian authorities have intensified pressure on civil society through arrests, prosecutions, financial investigations and mass suspensions, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday – warning that the independent civic space created after the 2011 revolution has been all but shut down.

Authorities have prosecuted at least 47 people linked to non-governmental groups and held at least 10 in preventive detention for longer than 14 months, the maximum allowed under Tunisian law, the rights group said.