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Chaima Issa. Photo: Creative Commons, The Munathara Initiative - Jun 25, 2017
Tunisian opposition figure and writer Chaima Issa was arrested 29 November 2025 by plainclothes police during a women’s rights protest in central Tunis, one day after an appeals court upheld a 20-year prison sentence against her in the so-called “Conspiracy Case.”1 Human-rights groups and legal observers immediately condemned the decision, calling her conviction part of a wider crackdown on dissent under President Kais Saied.
Issa was detained on Habib Bourguiba Avenue during a demonstration challenging the erosion of civil liberties. According to her family and lawyer, officers used force during the arrest, injuring her foot; Human Rights Watch later confirmed she began a hunger strike after being transferred to Manouba Prison.2
A Cultural and Political Voice
Although Issa is best known as an opposition figure and commentator, she has long been active in Tunisia’s cultural sphere as a writer and advocate for women’s rights. Her prominence grew through her work with the National Salvation Front (NSF), the main coalition opposing Saied’s consolidation of power after 2021.3
Escalating Reprisals:
February 2023 — First Arrest
Issa was first detained on 22 February 2023 during a sweep that targeted several critics of the president under “conspiracy” accusations widely criticized as politically motivated.4
2023 — Months of Pre-Trial Detention
According to rights organizations, she was held for months before being conditionally released under restrictive travel and public-speech bans.5
2025 — Trial and Sentencing
The mass “Conspiracy Case” trial began in March 2025, involving more than forty defendants. Human-rights monitors reported due-process violations including limited defense access and closed hearings.6
In April 2025, she received an 18-year sentence, later increased to 20 years when the appeals court issued its ruling on 28 November 2025.7
Amnesty International described the outcome as “blatantly unjust” and urged authorities to quash the verdict.829 November 2025 — Protest Arrest and Hunger Strike
The day after the appeal ruling, Issa joined a women’s rights protest in Tunis and was seized by plainclothes officers.1 Human Rights Watch later reported that she began a hunger strike and suffered a foot injury from the arrest.2
Tunisia’s Authoritarian Backslide
Since Saied’s 2021 power grab, in which he suspended parliament and began ruling by decree, Tunisia has experienced a severe contraction of civic freedoms.
Amnesty International has denounced arbitrary prosecutions of peaceful critics.8
HRW has described the conspiracy case as emblematic of “the collapse of rule of law.”2
Reuters has documented rising street protests and the “harshest repression since the revolution.”9
Writers, artists, and journalists now report surveillance, intimidation, and self-censorship — a stark reversal of the cultural openness that followed the 2011 revolution.
A Symbol Beyond the Courtroom
For many Tunisians, Issa now represents a broader struggle to protect the last remaining spaces for dissent. Her detention has mobilized protests, spurred international condemnation, and amplified calls for the release of political prisoners.
Tunisian poet and opposition figure Chaima Issa was arrested on 29 November while marching in a women’s rights protest in Tunis, just one day after an appeals court confirmed a 20‑year sentence against her in the so‑called “Conspiracy Case.”
A writer, performer and leading voice in the National Salvation Front, Issa has long used poetry and public speech to challenge Tunisia’s return to authoritarian rule. Her hunger strike in Manouba Prison now stands as a stark indictment of President Kais Saied’s assault on artistic and political freedoms — and a reminder that expression itself is on trial in Tunisia.
#ChaimaIssa #Tunisia #ArtisticFreedom #FreedomOfExpression #HumanRights #WomenHumanRightsDefenders #PoetsAtRisk #MimetaMemos #KaisSaied #EndTheCrackdown
Al-Monitor, “Prominent Activist Arrested as Hundreds Protest in Tunisia,” Nov. 2025. ↩ ↩2
Human Rights Watch, “Prominent Activists Held in Conspiracy Case,” Dec. 2025. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
Amnesty International (Germany), Urgent Action on NSF members, Dec. 2025. ↩
Human Rights Watch, report on arbitrary detentions, Apr. 2025. ↩
Ibid. ↩
HRW, “Due Process Concerns in Conspiracy Case,” Apr.–May 2025. ↩
Polity / AllAfrica, coverage of appeal sentences, Nov. 2025. ↩
Amnesty International, “Tunisia Must Quash Unjust Heavy Convictions,” Nov. 2025. ↩ ↩2
Reuters, reporting on protests and repression, Dec. 2025. ↩
