Tunisia: Nawaat journalists ambushed and detained as intimidation of journalists escalates

On Monday, 21 September 2026, the editorial team of the news website Nawaat was contacted by someone claiming to work for a delivery company who asked them to collect a package at the entrance to the building. According to one of the journalists involved, her colleague suspected the call was a trap and asked several colleagues to accompany her. When they arrived at the building's entrance, the journalists reportedly found several plainclothes police officers waiting for them. The officers then allegedly apprehended them violently in front of passers-by and took them to a vehicle "bearing a foreign licence plate" and told them to get in "without making noise," according to first-hand accounts gathered by RSF. During the apprehension, the officers allegedly threatened the journalists, telling them they "would never see the light of day again" before dismissing the remarks as "a joke." The journalist also reported insults and abusive language.

The journalists were then taken to the central brigade of the National Guard in Aouina, where some officers allegedly insulted and verbally humiliated them. Although they were interrogated as part of a legal investigation into participants in a demonstration held on 19 September in support of the activists of the Sumud Flotilla - an international flotilla in support of Gaza - the journalists were also questioned about the work of their media outlet, although no official record was made of this questioning despite the journalists' request. The officers also allegedly sought access to their phones, which the journalists refused, asking that the necessary legal authorisations be presented and that their legal status be clarified. They were released around two hours later. No charges were officially brought against them.

RSF calls on the Tunisian authorities to:

• immediately open an investigation into the circumstances under which the Nawaat team was lured to and then taken to the headquarters of the National Guard's central brigade, and establish who is responsible for this act
• examine the reported conduct of certain officers, including insults and humiliating treatment
• ensure the legal safeguards governing access to journalists' phones and digital data are respected
• protect journalists against any form of intimidation or pressure related to their professional activities.

This attack comes amid a decline in press freedom in Tunisia, marked by administrative barriers and the growing weaponisation of the justice system against journalists, undermining the right to information. Topics such as the water crisis and social protests linked to shortages are particularly controversial and journalistic coverage of these issues regularly faces obstacles.

Tunisia ranks 137th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index.