'Settling Scores': What Lies Behind the UN Warning to Kais Saied on Tunisia’s Judiciary?

Tunisian President Kais Saied’s authoritarian practices and human rights violations have come under growing domestic and international criticism, including from the United Nations, over his use of the judiciary to settle political scores with opponents.

According to Euronews on July 14, 2025, “In a firm stance, two UN special rapporteurs stated that the Tunisian authorities are turning the judiciary into a weapon to suppress the opposition, by targeting lawyers and arbitrarily imprisoning them.”

The statement, issued by Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, warned that “targeting legal professionals merely for carrying out their role in the justice system or for exercising their right to freedom of expression constitutes a direct threat to the integrity and fairness of judicial proceedings in Tunisia.”

The two UN special rapporteurs pointed to a series of cases that, they say, reveal a systematic pattern in how the Tunisian authorities are dealing with lawyers critical of the regime. 

Among those cases is that of lawyer and former judge Ahmed Souab, who was arrested in April 2025 on terrorism-related charges after making public statements accusing judges of succumbing to political pressure to impose harsher sentences against opponents in a recent mass trial.

The experts also drew attention to the case of Sonia Dahmani, a lawyer, journalist, and outspoken critic of President Kais Saied. 

She was arrested on May 11, 2024, in what human rights groups described as a “violent and unlawful” operation inside the headquarters of the Bar Association, carried out by masked police officers.

Dahmani is currently facing trial in five separate cases linked to her media statements, all based on “Decree 54,” a law issued by President Kais Saied that has been widely condemned by rights groups for its vague and overly broad language. She has already received prison sentences in several of these cases.

The two UN experts stressed that these cases, along with other examples cited in their report, “appear designed to ensure the silencing of critics of the executive authority.” They noted that they had formally communicated their concerns to the Tunisian government.

The two rapporteurs called on Tunisian authorities to allow lawyers to carry out their professional duties in full freedom, without threats, interference, or harassment.

It is worth noting that UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council. 

While they do not speak on behalf of the United Nations itself, their reports carry significant weight as authoritative references in the field of international human rights.

Revolutionary Approach

The UN warning comes against the backdrop of ongoing political and social unrest in Tunisia since July 25, 2021, when President Kais Saied, elected in 2019 under a semi-parliamentary system, announced a series of exceptional measures that granted him sweeping executive, legislative, and judicial powers. His opponents have described the move as a “coup against democracy.”

On July 8, 2025, the Fifth Criminal Chamber for Terrorism Cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance issued preliminary verdicts in the high-profile “conspiracy against state security” case, in which 21 defendants, including politicians and former security officials, are on trial.

This case is part of a broader wave of prosecutions that has intensified since 2021, centered on terrorism-related charges. 

Activists and human rights organizations describe these trials as “arbitrary” and politically motivated, used as tools to settle scores with opponents.

In this context, Amnesty International warned that the mass convictions of opposition activists in Tunisia, following what it described as a “sham trial on fabricated charges,” mark “a dangerous moment for the country and a worrying sign of how far the authorities are willing to go in their ongoing crackdown on peaceful dissent.”

Erika Guevara Rosas, Director of Research, Advocacy, and Policy at Amnesty International, said the convictions represent “a false image of justice” and reflect the authorities’ complete disregard for Tunisia’s international obligations on human rights and the rule of law.

Supporters of President Saied, however, strongly defend the ongoing trials, insisting that the president does not interfere in judicial affairs. 

Instead, they argue, he is working to cleanse the judiciary of corruption and restore its authority after years of politicization and disorder.

They describe Saied as an “honest” leader with no interest in eliminating his rivals, asserting that he is committed to applying the law equally to all. 

His continued support for institutional independence and his rejection of political compromises at the expense of the state, they say, are clear evidence of that.

Judicial Misconduct 

Reacting to the UN report, lawyer and political activist Abdelwahab Maatar expressed deep frustration over the deteriorating judicial and political climate in Tunisia under President Kais Saied’s rule.

Speaking to Al-Estiklal, Maatar said, “The authorities have shifted from the logic of ‘those who acquit them are accomplices’, which targeted judges, to an even more dangerous logic: ‘those who defend them are accomplices,’ now aimed at lawyers.”

He emphasized that the arrest of lawyers defending political or human rights activists is just one link in a chain of mounting restrictions targeting anyone who dares to stand for justice and defend political detainees.

“The wave of arrests will not stop, because this regime sees no path forward except to keep pushing ahead in an attempt to salvage what it can,” Maatar added. 

He also criticized what he called the “suspicious and record-breaking speed” with which verdicts are being issued in a number of cases. 

According to him, this reflects a clear intention to close these files as quickly as possible and divert public attention from urgent social issues.

The lawyer explained that “the cases brought against prominent political and human rights figures are usually weak and fragmented from the start, lacking conclusive evidence or any real basis for conviction. That is why these cases must be rushed through to avoid exposing the political manipulation behind them.”

Maatar concluded that the authorities’ decision to leave some cases unresolved is “a blatant indication of injustice and a clear sign of judicial misconduct, turning the judiciary into a mere tool stripped of any genuine independence.”

The targeting of democracy, the exploitation of the judiciary, and the repression of freedoms have become rallying points, prompting the Tunisian opposition to call for a popular march in the capital, Tunis, on the morning and evening of July 25, 2025.

According to Ultra Tunisia on July 17, 2025, the National Salvation Front urged all citizens to participate in the demonstration, noting that it coincides with the fourth anniversary of the declaration of exceptional measures that ended public freedoms and the separation of powers, establishing an absolute individual rule. The protest also marks the 68th anniversary of the proclamation of the republic.

Through its morning march, the National Salvation Front called for the “release of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in general” and the “restoration of public freedoms and constitutional legitimacy under the principle of separation of powers.”

Meanwhile, the Tunisian Network for Rights and Freedoms urged participation in an evening march under the slogan “Free the Republic.”

The network said its call comes “at a time when expressing an opinion has become a crime, opposition is branded as betrayal, and the constitution is a pliant tool in the hands of a single individual.”

The Tunisian Network for Rights and Freedoms added that since July 25, 2021, the Republic Day has ceased to be a celebration of freedom. 

Instead, it has become a moment when cycles of repression are renewed and the authority of one individual is consolidated over the ruins of the civil state.

The network emphasized in its call that “the past four years have been marked by arrests and sham trials, incitement against opponents, the branding of dissenters as traitors, and the erasure of boundaries between law and vengeance.”

Restoration of Democracy

This criticism of judicial exploitation has also been voiced by a number of professors from law faculties and higher institutes of legal sciences in Tunisia.

In a joint statement issued in April 2025, more than 50 professors expressed their “strong condemnation of President Kais Saied’s use of the judiciary as a tool to criminalize political opposition and stifle freedom of expression.”

The signatories of the statement expressed their support and solidarity with all defendants and their families, condemning the verdicts issued without regard for criminal law principles, fundamental procedural safeguards, or fair trial standards.

The statement called for the restoration of democracy and judicial independence to ensure conditions for fair and just trials and to halt the erosion of legal legitimacy.

In the same context, the professors rejected the fait accompli policies imposed since July 25, 2021, under weak pretexts. 

They described these measures as populist tactics that undermine the principles of legitimacy, fundamental freedoms, human rights, and the rule of law, effectively paving the way for individual rule.

The United Nations’ findings on Tunisia’s exploitation of the judiciary are not unprecedented. On April 16, 2025, Human Rights Watch stated that the authorities had made “arbitrary detention” a central pillar of their “repressive” policies by arresting dozens of opponents.

The organization confirmed the government’s “increasing reliance on arbitrary detention and politically motivated prosecutions to intimidate, punish, and silence its critics.”

Human Rights Watch released a 40-page report titled “We Are All Conspirators: The Use of Arbitrary Detention in Tunisia to Crush Opposition.” 

The report documents the government’s increasing reliance on arbitrary detention and politically motivated prosecutions to intimidate, punish, and silence its critics.

The organization recorded cases of 22 individuals held on arbitrary charges, including terrorism, based solely on their statements or involvement in political activities. 

Among them were lawyers, political opponents, activists, journalists, social media users, and human rights defenders.

In the report, Bassam Khawaja, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch, said that “since the 2011 revolution, Tunisian authorities have never launched such severe campaigns of repression.”

The organization noted that the authorities have relied “on a set of hostile legal tools, including baseless security and terrorism charges” under the criminal code and the 2015 anti-terrorism law.

These laws grant security forces broad powers for surveillance and monitoring and allow for the detention of suspects for up to 15 days.

Human Rights Watch urged the Tunisian government to “end its repressive campaign against those it considers critics and to release all individuals arbitrarily detained solely for exercising their human rights in many cases.”