TUNIS, 07 Nov. - (ANA) - The World Organisation Against Torture's (OMCT) office in Tunisia said Wednesday that authorities had suspended its activities for a month, making it the latest in a spate of organisations to be hit by the measure in the North African country.

 

"During this period, OMCT Tunisia is unfortunately unable to provide direct assistance to victims of torture and their families and will suspend all its activities," the Geneva-headquartered organisation said on Facebook.

 

"This measure is part of a series of suspensions targeting, in a worrisome manner, several components of Tunisian civil society," it added, saying it would appeal the decision.

 

The NGO, which also has offices in Brussels, works with member organisations around the world to "end torture and ill-treatment, assist victims, and protect human rights defenders", according to its website.

 

Since President Kais Saied staged a sweeping power grab in 2021 - in what critics have called a coup - rights groups have denounced a regression in freedoms in the country.

 

Dozens of Saied's critics are currently behind bars.

 

Rights groups in Tunisia have said they are facing a campaign of "intimidation" by authorities, who have recently suspended several NGOs.

 

Those include two of the country's best-known organisations: the Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights (FTDES) and the Association of Democratic Women (ATFD).

 

The head of the ATFD, Raja Dahmani, told AFP the authorities said the organisation had violated regulations governing associations.

 

She insisted that it fully complied with legal procedures and said it had lodged an appeal.

 

Saied has regularly accused NGOs of receiving suspicious funds from abroad, which he has called "blatant interference in Tunisia's internal affairs".   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/07 November 2025 - - -