Tunisia faces criticism as prosecutions of journalists continue under the government of President Kais Saied. Posted on September 4, 20264 September 2026 Tunisian police have arrested prominent journalist Mohamed Yousfi, an outspoken critic of President Kais Saied’s government, the head of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists told Reuters. According to local journalists, police said Yousfi, the editor-in-chief of the Al-Qatiba investigative news website, was taken in for questioning on Friday. The focus of the investigation is unknown. Recommended Stories list of 3 articlesend of list Tunisian authorities have not yet commented on the arrest, which is the latest in a series of prosecutions of media personalities and activists in Tunisia this year. Khaoula Boukrim, founder of the TUMEDIA news website, who fled to France last year, was sentenced in June to four years in absentia. Prominent journalist Zied el-Heni was sentenced in May to one year in prison, while broadcaster Mourad Zeghidi and political commentator Borhen Bsaies were sentenced in January to three and a half years. Human rights groups have warned of a growing crackdown on independent voices in Tunisia under Saied, whose government has dismantled democratic safeguards, allowing authorities to pursue journalists and critics more aggressively. Saied. “The ruling confirms that the judiciary is not independent,” said Haifa Chebbi, a lawyer whose father, opposition leader Najib Chebbi, was among those sentenced to 12 years. Tunisia’s Justice Minister Leila Jaffel said the defendants sought to destabilize the country.
