Ahead of its controversial elections, Tunisia bans magazine Jeune Afrique for criticizing the president

The banning of Jeune Afrique is another step in Kais Saied’s clampdown on independent media, further undoing the democratic gains of the 2011 revolution

Originally published on Global Voices

With the controversial presidential elections a month away, Tunisia banned the September issue of French-language magazine Jeune Afrique. The move marks a stark reminder of the authoritarian practices employed during the days of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s dictatorship, when the magazine was similarly banned for reporting on the corruption and human rights abuses that characterized his 23-year rule.

Jeune Afrique, a publication well-known for its in-depth coverage of African and Arabic-speaking countries, has long been a target of censorship by regimes intolerant of dissent. The recent ban under President Kais Saied mirrors these earlier efforts to suppress independent journalism and silence critical voices.

Saied has increasingly centralized power since his self-coup in 2021, and clamped down on independent media, opposition figures, and any form of dissent. This crackdown is part of a broader return to authoritarianism, undoing many of the freedoms Tunisians gained after the 2011 revolution that toppled Ben Ali. The current political climate, including the exclusion of major opposition candidates from the upcoming elections, paints a bleak picture for the future of democracy in Tunisia.

Jeune Afrique

Founded in Tunis in 1960 by Béchir Ben Yahmed and other Tunisian intellectuals, Jeune Afrique has established itself as one of the most respected publications in the French-speaking world covering politics, economics, and social issues in Africa and the Arabic-speaking countries. Over the decades, the magazine has earned a reputation for its bold and critical journalism, often drawing the ire of authoritarian regimes across the region.

This latest ban is linked to Jeune Afrique’s cover story “L’hyper-président” (The hyper president), exposing Tunisia’s current political situation under President Kais Saied, particularly the rising authoritarianism and the erosion of the democratic gains achieved after the 2011 revolution.

Feminist journalist Monia Ben Hamadi shared the banned cover on X saying:

Censure en #Tunisie : le nouveau numéro de @jeune_afrique a été interdit à la vente à cause d'une enquête sur Kais Saied. https://t.co/MBlfPJLK0D pic.twitter.com/wnk7YXT134

— Monia Ben Hamadi (@MoniaBH) September 4, 2024

Censorship in Tunisia: the latest issue of Jeune Afrique has been banned from sale due to an investigation into Kais Saied.

Undoing the revolution

The banning of Jeune Afrique is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader pattern of rising authoritarianism under Saied, who has systematically dismantled the democratic institutions and freedoms that Tunisians fought for during the 2011 revolution. Since seizing extraordinary powers in July 2021, when he dissolved parliament and began ruling by decree, Saied has cracked down on opposition figures, journalists, and civil society. His actions have included the dismissal of independent judges, the restructuring of the electoral commission to suit his agenda, and the imposition of restrictive media laws that target anyone critical of his government​.

Fida Hammami, Amnesty International’s Tunisia Research and Advocacy Advisor wrote on X:

المؤامرات وستانسنا بيهم، البرقيات المستندة على الخيال الضيق متاع اصحابها وفييالنا بيها اما منع عدد من مجلة انو يدخل للبلاد هاذي جديدة! تعدينا لمرحلة الصنصرة الفجة
كان @jeune_afrique تأكد الي صار لازم ردة فعل قوية، كان تتعدى هناني بناني ماتكون كان البداية #تونس pic.twitter.com/qhgDTBGECL

— فداء الهمامي Fida Hammami (@FidaaHammami) September 4, 2024

We've gotten used to conspiracies, and we've become familiar with them. The telegrams based on the narrow imagination of their authors, we are used to those too. But banning a magazine from entering the country — this is new! We've moved to the stage of blatant censorship. If @jeune_afrique confirms what happened, there must be a strong reaction. If this passes quietly, it will only be the beginning. #Tunisia

In 2023, Hammami’s own father, human rights lawyer Ayachi Hammami was himself subjected to a criminal investigation based on what Amnesty called “unfounded accusations of ‘conspiracy’” alongside feminist lawyer Bochra Belhaj Hamida and opposition political figures Nejib Chebbi and Noureddine Bhriri.

A bleak future

With elections scheduled for October 6, 2024, the future of democracy in Tunisia looks increasingly bleak. The country, once hailed as the only success story of the so-called Arab Spring, now faces the grim reality of a return to the very system of governance that the revolution sought to overthrow. The electoral process itself has been criticized for being heavily skewed in favor of the incumbent president, with most serious opposition candidates either arrested or disqualified, leaving only two contenders, both too weak to pose a real challenge. The question that remains is whether Tunisia can reclaim its democratic path or if it will continue down the road of authoritarianism.

Written by Walid El Houri