TransparencyOversight & ethics enforcement
Tunisia dissolved its National Authority for Access to Information in August 2025; journalists' union says it was done in secret
Confidence: Corroborated · 2 sourcesTunisia · Oct 12, 2026
Subject of this story
Kais Saied, President of Tunisia
Also named
Affected
National Authority for Access to Information (INAI)
Advocate
National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT)
What happened
Tunisia's government told AFP it shut down the National Authority for Access to Information (INAI) in early August 2025 and reassigned its staff to other government roles. INAI was created in 2016 as an independent body to protect citizens' and journalists' right to access public information. The National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists said the move was made in secret, with no major public announcement, and called it the demolition of a fundamental pillar of democracy; rights groups also link it to a wider decline in freedoms under President Kais Saied.
Sources (2)
ARTICLE 19The Access to Information Authority (INAI) ... was covertly shut down without official announcement; its offices were quietly closed, staff reassigned to other public offices.
Arab NewsTunisia's government dissolved the National Authority for Access to Information (INAI); the Tunisian government confirmed the closure to AFP; journalists' union head Zied Dabbar said 'access to information is increasingly locked now.'
Response
Kais Saied
Statement given
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.