The Committee for Justice welcomes the decision issued on 27 November 2025 by the Minister of Justice granting conditional release to lawyer and media commentator Sonia Dahmani, thereby ending a period of arbitrary detention marked by clear violations of procedural safeguards and the basic standards of a fair trial.
Sonia Dahmani was arrested on 11 May 2024 inside the premises of the Tunisian Bar Association, following public statements in which she criticized the authorities’ political choices. She was subsequently transferred to the Manouba Women’s Prison. Throughout nearly eighteen months of detention, she was subjected to multiple and serious human rights violations: inhumane detention conditions (an overcrowded and confined cell, extreme cold, and lack of essential supplies), unjustified restrictions on communication with her family and legal counsel, and a degrading strip search amounting to sexual assault, as documented by human rights organizations and testimonies from her relatives. She was also denied adequate medical care, resulting in severe physical and psychological consequences.
While the Committee for Justice considers this release a positive step, it does not erase the fundamentally arbitrary and abusive nature of Sonia Dahmani’s deprivation of liberty for exercising a constitutionally protected right: freedom of opinion and expression. The Committee stresses that the ongoing arrests, prosecutions, and intimidation of journalists, human rights defenders, and civic actors stand in blatant contradiction with Tunisia’s constitutional, international, and regional obligations, and reflect an alarming pattern of shrinking civic and political space and the erosion of the rule of law.
Accordingly, the Committee for Justice urges the Tunisian authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Sonia Dahmani.
- Permanently end all judicial and administrative proceedings aimed at restricting freedom of expression, civic engagement, and political participation.
- Order the immediate and unconditional release of all individuals detained for their opinions, civic activism, or political engagement.
- Repeal Decree-Law No. 54 without delay, as it has become a repressive legal instrument used outside any legitimate legal framework to criminalize critical expression, and restore the full constitutional and legal guarantees of public freedoms.
The protection of fundamental rights and liberties is not a discretionary privilege of the State, but a binding legal obligation and a cornerstone of the social contract. The Committee for Justice reaffirms its commitment to continuing its monitoring, documentation, and advocacy efforts until all restrictions on independent and critical voices are fully lifted.
