Chadha Haj Mbarek

Background and Work

Chadha Haj Mbarek was active in Tunisia's civil society sector during a period of sharp democratic backsliding. Since President Kais Saied's consolidation of power in 2021, the space for independent voices has contracted dramatically. Defenders, journalists, and opposition figures have faced a cascade of arrests under security laws and anti-terrorism provisions repurposed to criminalize dissent.

Her work placed her in a landscape where advocacy itself had become grounds for prosecution. The Tunisian state increasingly relied on articles of the Penal Code designed to protect national security, deploying them against individuals whose activities posed no credible threat to public safety but challenged the government's narrative and policies.

The Arrest

Security forces arrested Chadha Haj Mbarek on 20 July 2023. The timing coincided with a broader crackdown on civil society and political opposition. Authorities invoked articles 61, 62 bis, and 67 of the Tunisian Penal Code, accusing her of undermining the external security of the state and attempting to change the form of government.

These charges have become a familiar tool in the government's arsenal. They carry severe penalties and are framed in vague language that allows prosecutors wide latitude. In practice, they have been applied to defenders and activists whose conduct consists of speech, association, and peaceful advocacy rather than any violent or coercive act.

Legal Proceedings

Chadha Haj Mbarek was tried and sentenced at first instance to five years in prison. The court proceedings reflected broader patterns of judicial complicity in the suppression of dissent. Trials under national security provisions in Tunisia have increasingly failed to meet international fair-trial standards, with defendants facing limited access to legal counsel, closed hearings, and verdicts that prioritize political loyalty over evidence.

The five-year sentence was among the harshest imposed in the recent wave of prosecutions. It sent a clear message to other defenders and activists: public criticism of the government carries concrete and severe consequences.

Conditional Release

She was released under conditions that continue to curtail her rights. Conditional release in Tunisia often entails travel restrictions, mandatory reporting to authorities, bans on public speech or association, and asset freezes. These measures effectively transform defenders into persons under permanent suspicion, their liberty contingent on continued silence and compliance.

The terms of her release have not been made fully public, but they are understood to impose significant restrictions on her movement and her ability to resume her human rights work. She remains vulnerable to re-arrest should authorities determine that she has violated the conditions, a determination that need not be subject to judicial review or meaningful oversight.

Context and Implications

Chadha Haj Mbarek's case is part of a wider pattern of repression in Tunisia. Since 2021, more than two dozen journalists, lawyers, politicians, and human rights defenders have been arrested under security and anti-fake-news laws. The judiciary has increasingly served as an instrument of executive power rather than an independent arbiter of legality and justice.

Her prosecution illustrates the transformation of Tunisia's legal framework into a mechanism for silencing dissent. Laws originally intended to address genuine threats to public safety have been repurposed to criminalize peaceful advocacy, political opposition, and criticism of government policy. The result is a climate in which defenders must choose between their convictions and their freedom, and in which the space for civil society continues to shrink.