Tunisian lawyer and commentator Sonia Dahmani, known for her bold defense of human rights and civil liberties, has become a symbol of the country’s escalating crackdown on dissent. Arrested in May 2024, she has been subjected to five separate legal proceedings that could put her behind bars for decades under Decree 54 — a law that President Kais Saied’s government has turned into its main weapon against political commentary and independent journalism.
Dahmani, 59, was a public fixture on Tunisian TV and radio shows, including “Emission Impossible” on IFM Radio and “Denya Zida” on Carthage+, where she spoke out against racism toward sub-Saharan migrants and condemned the erosion of political freedoms in Tunisia. Some of those remarks now form the basis of the cases against her, all framed as “false news aimed at spreading chaos in Tunisian society”.
Her prosecution comes amid a broader assault on free expression in Tunisia. Since Saied’s 2021 power grab — when he dissolved parliament, took control of the judiciary, and gave himself powers to rule by decree — opposition leaders, journalists, and other government critics have increasingly faced arrest and harassment. At least four journalists, including Dahmani, Mourad Zghidi, Borhen Bsaies, and Chadha Hadj Mbarek, are currently imprisoned, the second highest number CPJ has recorded in the country since 1992.
In prison, Dahmani has described enduring degrading conditions, harassment, and sexual assault, while her health has sharply deteriorated. CPJ emailed Tunisia’s Presidency requesting comment but did not receive a reply.
CPJ spoke to her sister Ramla Dahmani about the charges against her, her treatment behind bars, and what the case reveals about Tunisia’s justice system today.
This interview has been translated from Arabic and edited for length and clarity.
What kinds of treatment has Sonia described experiencing while in prison?
They [authorities] want to break her. Sonia’s prison conditions are unbearable. Last August, in 2024, she was not allowed to shower for six full weeks. Can you imagine six weeks in the Tunisian summer heat, in a cell full of rats, cockroaches, and damp walls that drip water? The cell is around twenty square meters, shared with four other women convicted of crimes like murder, theft, drug dealing. There is no dignity, no privacy. In winter, the dripping water freezes; in summer, temperatures rise above fifty degrees [Celsius].
She has been denied basics: no pillow, no coat in winter, no gloves, no mirror, she’s not allowed to cut her hair or nails. For over a year, she has not even seen her own reflection. Food is another form of humiliation. The family brings her meals three times a week, but items are often refused for no reason. She is not allowed to heat her food, so she eats it cold — even frozen during winter.
All of this has affected her health terribly. She was healthy before, but now she has diabetes, thyroid problems, high blood pressure, and severe back and shoulder pain. Because she cannot move or exercise, her muscles have wasted away. A doctor prescribed physiotherapy, but when they take her to the hospital, it is with her hands cuffed behind her back, surrounded by masked guards carrying heavy weapons. She returns worse than when she left.
Mentally, she is still strong and hasn’t given up. But the isolation has taken a toll. She is cut off from newspapers, from the radio, from the outside world.
[…]
To me, Sonia has become a symbol. Her case shows that Tunisia’s judiciary is no longer independent. When a single comment can generate three different prosecutions, when criticism of a minister becomes a ten-year charge, when prison abuse is punished not by reform but by more charges, this is not justice. Sonia’s case is not just about her. It is about the price anyone in Tunisia pays if they dare to sp
‘They want to break her’: A Q&A with jailed Tunisian commentator/lawyer Sonia Dahmani’s sister
