NGOs denounce 'intimidation' campaign in Tunisia

NGOs in Tunisia say they are facing a campaign of "intimidation" by authorities, who recently suspended the activities of two of the country's best-known organisations.

Since President Kais Saied staged a sweeping power grab in 2021 -- in what critics have called a coup -- rights groups have denounced a regression in freedoms in the country.

Dozens of Saied's critics are currently behind bars.

Late last month, the Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights (FTDES) and the Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) said authorities had suspended their activities for a month.

The head of the ATFD, Raja Dahmani, told AFP the authorities said they had taken the decision because the organisation had violated regulations governing associations.

Dahmani said the feminist ATFD, which has been at the forefront of the struggle for democracy in Tunisia for years, "fully complies with legal procedures" and had lodged an appeal.

In the interim, however, it had to close its counselling centres for women victims of violence.

The FTDES, which is active on migration and environmental issues, denounced "a flagrant attempt to subjugate free voices who have refused to swear allegiance" to the government.

When contacted by AFP, the government did not respond.

Saied has regularly accused NGOs of receiving suspicious funds, speaking of "huge sums" sent from abroad, which he has called "blatant interference in Tunisia's internal affairs".

Pollution protests

Some associations said they feared the next step would be dissolution.

One source who preferred not to be named said that at least 17 NGOs had received month-long suspension orders since mid-August.

"We are undoubtedly witnessing a new wave of repression aimed at further restricting civic space and silencing any dissenting voices," a researcher at an NGO told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Several association leaders noted that the suspension orders came at a time when the southern city of Gabes was protesting against pollution.

On Friday, thousands of demonstrators gathered in the city to call for the closure of facilities at an ageing chemical factory blamed for hundreds of poisoning cases.

"Whenever the regime feels threatened or in difficulty, it responds with a crackdown and a wave of repression," the researcher said.

In recent months, several organisations told AFP they had been targeted by what they described as undue tax audits, summoned for questioning or had their bank transfers blocked.

The head of one of them, who preferred to remain anonymous, described it as a "perfidious and effective" strategy.

"Almost 80 percent of our energy" is spent on administrative back-and-forth, he said, adding that his organisation had been among those suspended for a month.

The chief of another NGO, which had received a formal notice preceding suspension, told AFP that the situation was "anxiety-provoking".

"The procedures mean we are drowning in paperwork."

'Political' decision

Fedy Feraihi, from the NGO Intersection, described the official rhetoric as "intimidation".

"The authorities are seeking to destroy all intermediary bodies" because "the state sees civil society as a force of opposition", Feraihi said.

He noted that the purportedly incriminating funding that NGOs were alleged to have received was already subject to systematic monitoring by the central bank.

Since Tunisia's 2011 revolution, the issue of NGO funding has been a recurring topic of public debate, with foreign funds flooding the country to support the democratic transition, which has fuelled questions about the motivations of certain donors.

In recent days, pro-regime media outlets have reported that an investigation was launched into enormous amounts of foreign funding that the organisations allegedly received, including from US billionaire George Soros.

AFP was unable to confirm such a probe. Some of the organisations mentioned said they had no information on the matter.

The Nawaat news website said on Friday it had been suspended and denounced what it called a "political" decision aimed at "silencing its pioneering voice in media resistance".