Press Freedom Monitoring Desk Islamabad
In July and August 2026, several journalists were prevented, restricted or intimidated while covering matters of public interest, notably protests and the crisis over access to water and electricity. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the growing number of obstacles to the work of journalists covering these issues in Tunisia.
The organisation calls on authorities to guarantee the free practice of journalism as well as the public’s right to information.
Tunisia ranks 137th out of 180 countries and territories in RSF’s 2026 World Press Freedom Index.
On 26 August, two journalists from the Tunis bureau of Qatari channel Al Jazeera – which has been closed without judicial decision since 26 July, 2021 – Mahmoud El Majdoub and Ahmed Ayari, were detained in Radès, in the southern suburbs of the capital, while covering the bottled water crisis, which was causing crowds to gatheri outside a supermarket to buy drinking water.
After questioning, the journalists were forced to delete photos from their report and sign a statement prohibiting them from filming and taking photographs in the area without prior authorisation from the relevant police station chief.
This incident reveals an increasingly common practice also documented by the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) in its July monitoring report. The authorities are increasingly demanding additional accreditations from journalists who already hold their professional cards and a mission order.
On July 7, in Hammamet, in the northeast of the country, a police officer asked Radio IFM correspondent Montassar Sassi for his authorisation despite having presented his professional card, while he was covering a protest rally of independent taxi drivers.
A few days later, on 13 July, in the Bab Alioua neighborhood in Tunis, photojournalist Nidal Sliti from news site Carthage Today was denied access to a demonstration — also by independent taxi drivers — because he did not have government authorisation. In both cases, intervention from the Interior Ministry’s crisis cell ultimately allowed the journalists to continue their work.
Oussama Bouagila, Director of RSF’s North Africa Bureau said, “It is deeply concerning that journalists are being prevented from covering issues that directly affect the public, whether it is access to water or social protests. The Tunisian authorities must stop imposing arbitrary obstacles by multiplying administrative directives and guarantee journalists the ability to practice their profession freely and without intimidation.”
Other instances of obstruction documented in July reveal broader restrictions. On 7 July, independent journalists Oussama Ben Aïcha and Jalal Mezoughi were prevented from filming by police officers on Habib-Bourguiba Avenue while on assignment, following “instructions” from the Prime Minister’s office limiting filming
A few days later, coverage of a political visit was prevented: the press was not invited. On 10 July, journalists from local media in Nabeul, also in the northeast of the country, were not invited to the Environment Minister’s visit, depriving them of the opportunity to question the minister on regional environmental issues.
These obstacles are part of a broader context of pressure on Tunisia’s media, marked by administrative hurdles that hinder the practice of journalism. Correspondents from international media outlets are also affected, through blocked filming authorisations and lengthy delays in obtaining accreditation.
Added to this is the instrumentalisation of the justice system against journalists, which restricts their ability to freely cover issues of public interest and undermines the right to information.
