TUNIS, Oct 14 - Journalists in Tunisia who enjoyed a burst of press freedom after the 2011 Arab Spring are once again looking over their shoulders in the knowledge their work may land them in prison.

The 2011 overthrow of autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali unshackled Tunisia's media, but a decade later President Kais Saied's seizure of sweeping powers began eroding those gains.

Now, independent media face a full-on crackdown, rights groups say, and Tunisia has tumbled more than 50 places in the past five years to 137th in Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index.

"We are living in a grey area, as if we were in a shifting minefield, and we pay the price every day," said Aymen Rezgui, editor-in-chief of independent outlet Nawaat, reflecting on how at least limits were clear pre-2011 versus current uncertainty.

Around him, in a small garden in Tunis, about half a dozen colleagues sit smoking, trading jokes and discussing investigations they plan to publish on subjects ranging from the quality of drinking water to conditions of prisons. They know that any of the stories could lead to prosecution.

Some 20 journalists face criminal charges over their reporting or social media posts, with four already imprisoned, according to Zied Dabbar, head of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, who called the situation unprecedented.

Saied has said he is not a dictator and that journalists are free to criticize authorities and frequently do. Authorities say prosecutions are impartial judicial matters and that no one is above the law. The Tunisian prime minister's press office did not respond to requests for comment.

Rezgui said Nawaat regularly receives threats — anonymously or from government supporters on social media branding him a traitor — over reporting on issues ranging from prisons to power cuts and water shortages.

The outlet has also faced judicial restrictions, including a government order suspending activities for a month last year. Many other journalists report similar pressures.

Last month, Mohamed Yousfi, editor-in-chief of independent news website Al-Qatiba, was arrested on his way to a private radio station for a live programme. A judge has charged him with illicit enrichment, which he says is a fabrication.

Other jailed journalists and media figures include prominent broadcasters Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies, who were first convicted of spreading false news and insulting the president, and later of tax evasion. They deny the charges and say they have been framed.

SOME CHOOSE EXILE For some, leaving Tunisia has become the only option to avoid a similar fate, despite the personal cost.

In December 2025, Khaoula Boukrim, founder of independent website Tumedia and a prominent critic of the president, left for France fearing imminent arrest.

Months later, she was sentenced in absentia to four years in prison over writings critical of the judiciary and a system of governance she described as authoritarian.

Journalist Haythem Mekki has also left Tunisia after receiving a prison sentence following public comments he made denouncing conditions in a hospital morgue. Saied’s supporters say such cases have nothing to do with freedom of expression.

Press freedom groups argue, however, that prosecutions are increasingly being used to intimidate and silence critical voices.

Beyond prosecutions, journalists are frequently prevented by police from working in public and are sometimes detained for hours, the journalists' syndicate says.

Most ministries no longer have press offices, while several international correspondents have been denied accreditation, further restricting independent coverage.

Political and critical programmes have disappeared from many private radio stations. State media has increasingly marginalised dissenting voices, the syndicate says, though the TAP state news agency remains a rare exception, continuing to cover protests, opposition activities and civil society initiatives. The pressure reverberates beyond newsrooms.

A photograph of Zied Heni, a radio journalist sentenced earlier this year to a year in prison after criticising a judicial ruling, hangs in the living room of his Tunis home.

His wife, Thouraya Zouari, said she and their three daughters have struggled to cope with his detention.

"We cannot accept that Zied is in prison," she said. "We are living through a nightmare." But she said that the family was determined to carry on the struggle for freedom of expression in his absence.

"He has instilled in his daughters the resolve not to remain silent in the face of injustice and oppression," she said of the daughters who still criticise Saied on social media and take part in street protests.