On Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists and five other press freedom and human rights organizations sent a joint letter to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for an immediate change in the EU’s approach toward Tunisia due to a severe human rights decline.
The signatories urged von der Leyen to condemn the crackdown on free speech and to press for the release of those who have been wrongfully incarcerated, including journalists.
Several members of the press, including
Mourad Zghidi
,
Borhen Bsaies
, and
Zied el-Heni
remain imprisoned in Tunisia solely for exercising their right to report. Two other journalists,
Ghassen Ben Khelifa
and
Khaoula Boukrim
, were sentenced to two and four years in prison consecutively.
Others, like lawyer and media commentator
Sonia Dahmani
, CPJ’s 2025
International Press Freedom Award honoree
, continue to face
judicial harassment
despite her release from prison in November following the adoption of a European Parliament resolution.
Read the full letter in
English
.
