HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement is deeply concerned about the arrest and subsequent placement in pre-trial detention of journalist Mohamed Yousfi, editor-in-chief of Al-Qatiba platform. On 8 September 2026, an investigating judge at the Economic and Financial Judicial Pole issued a detention order against Yousfi. According to his defense committee, the decision was taken before questioning was completed, without hearing his lawyers and in Yousfi’s absence. His questioning was reportedly interrupted after his health deteriorated, and a doctor requested his urgent transfer to hospital.
HuMENA is concerned that the decision to detain Yousfi was taken in his absence, despite his deteriorating health, and without allowing his lawyers to present their defense. These circumstances raise serious concerns about his right to a fair trial and the apparent link between the proceedings against him and his work as a journalist. Prison authorities have also reportedly denied his wife a visitation permit, preventing her from providing him with essential medication and other basic necessities while he remains hospitalized.
Yousfi is the editor-in-chief of Al-Qatiba, an investigative platform covering corruption, governance, human rights and other public-interest issues. He has also worked as a radio and television presenter, including hosting the political programme “Houna Tounes”, (Tunisian dialect for Here is Tunisia) on Diwan FM radio.
Officers of the Tunisian National Guard arrested Yousfi on 4 September 2026 as he was about to enter the offices of Express FM to take part in a radio programme on Tunisia’s water policies. According to the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), he was transferred that evening to the Third Central Unit for Investigations into Complex Financial Crimes of the National Guard in L’Aouina.
On 5 September, a first investigating judge at the Economic and Financial Judicial Pole formally placed Yousfi under custody after an investigation was opened against him based on Facebook posts, according to the SNJT. His initial 48-hour detention period was extended by another 48 hours on 7 September, according to Bassem Trifi, a member of Yousfi’s defense committee. On 8 September, the investigating judge issued the detention warrant.
The journalists’ syndicate reported that Yousfi suffered an acute health emergency on the first night of his arrest, on 4 September, and was transferred to hospital, where he underwent surgery for appendicitis. According to his defense committee, he was still unwell when he appeared before the investigating judge on 8 September. The questioning continued until his health deteriorated. Despite the presence of Civil Protection personnel, who provided first aid in the presence of a doctor who later requested his urgent transfer, the investigating judge proceeded to issue a detention order against him while he was absent and without allowing his lawyers to complete presenting their defenses.
A first judicial source cited by TAP reported on 5 September that the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Economic and Financial Judicial Pole had opened an investigation against Yousfi and others who the investigation might implicate. The investigation concerns allegations including illicit enrichment, money laundering, and forming a conspiracy to harm persons and property, as well as alleged illicit financial flows through an association.
A document circulating online on 8 September, identified as a “decision to open an investigation”, stated that Yousfi is facing charges under Tunisia’s 2015 Law on combating terrorism and preventing money laundering, as well as provisions of the Penal Code as well as Tunisia’s 2028 Law on illicit enrichment. The charges include money laundering, illicit enrichment and the alleged formation of a gang or association with the purpose of attacking persons or property.
According to the document, the Public Prosecutor at the Economic and Financial Judicial Pole decided on 4 September to open an investigation into Yousfi after receiving repetitive information and data that it said raised suspicions about his involvement in money laundering, illicit enrichment, tax-related offences and the receipt of funds from foreign parties. The report also alleged that Yousfi had used facilities linked to his professional position in connection with these activities.
The report directly links these suspicions to Yousfi’s work as a journalist and editor-in-chief of Al-Qatiba. It refers to his professional activities and alleges that Yousfi and Al-Qatiba were linked to financial operations involving foreign funding and what it describes as “foreign agendas.” It further alleges that Al-Qatiba was being used to advance these agendas. The report states that, after reviewing the platform, the Public Prosecutor found that it was linked to the association “Takallom”, with Al-Qatiba as its project.
The report also refers to information circulating on social media alleging that Yousfi’s fortune had grown significantly, that his financial situation had increased rapidly and suddenly, and that he had acquired new money and assets that did not correspond to his declared resources and income. It also refers to a Facebook post published by another journalist as part of the information reviewed by the Public Prosecutor, in which she used offensive language to criticize a fellow journalist. The Public Prosecutor also relied on a third-party comment on the same post alleging that a journalist had acquired new assets.
At a press conference organised by the SNJT on 8 September 2026, a member of Yousfi’s defense team said that the case was based on a two-page report containing assumptions and inferences about his alleged increase in wealth, foreign funding and connections. According to the defense, the case file contained no evidence supporting these allegations, including no banking records, property documents or financial audits. The defense also said that the investigation was opened based on a Facebook post that did not mention Yousfi by name but was interpreted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office as referring to him.
These concerns, together with the criminal allegations against Yousfi, are particularly serious given the apparent link between the proceedings against him and his work as a journalist. His placement in pre-trial detention also raises concerns about arbitrary detention. Under Article 84 of Tunisia’s Code of Criminal Procedure, pre-trial detention is an exceptional measure and should not be the rule. Article 9(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) similarly provides that pre-trial detention should not be the general rule and that release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial. In General Comment No. 35, paragraph 38, the UN Human Rights Committee further states that pre-trial detention must be necessary and based on an individual assessment, with alternatives to detention considered.
In Yousfi’s case, the detention order was issued while he was absent, after his health had deteriorated and reportedly before his lawyers could fully present their defense, raising serious concerns about his right to a full defense. The Tunisian authorities are also responsible for ensuring that Yousfi receives adequate medical care while in detention. Given the apparent link between the case and his journalistic work, the proceedings should also be examined in light of freedom of expression standards, which require that restrictions on journalism be lawful, necessary and proportionate. These circumstances raise serious concerns about whether his detention was necessary and justified under Tunisian and international law.
“Mohamed Yousfi’s arrest and placement in pre-trial detention raise serious concerns. He was detained while in poor health, and the detention order was issued while he was absent and before his lawyers could complete their defense. The arguments presented in what appears to be the case file circulating online also raise questions about the basis for the serious allegations brought against him. In these circumstances, there are serious concerns about the need to keep him in pre-trial detention,” said Mostafa Fouad, Executive Director of HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement.
Zied Dabbar, President of the SNJT, said on 8 September that Yousfi is being prosecuted for his criticism and journalistic work. He warned of growing pressure on journalists, particularly in private media, and described the Tunisian press as in a “state of emergency”, citing judicial and security harassment and growing fear among journalists.
Yousfi’s case comes amid a wider deterioration of civic space in Tunisia since President Kais Saied consolidated power in July 2021. HuMENA’s latest report documents the growing use of criminal proceedings against journalists, activists, lawyers and other critical voices. On 4 September, the European Union also called on Tunisia to respect fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial.
Journalists in Tunisia have increasingly faced prosecution and imprisonment for their reporting and public expression. HuMENA has documented recent cases, including the one-year prison sentences handed to Zied El Heni in May 2026 and Haythem El Mekki in July under Article 86 of the Telecommunications Code. Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies also remain imprisoned after being sentenced to three and a half years in January 2026. More broadly, HuMENA has documented the use of Article 86 and Decree-Law 54 of 2022 against journalists and its impact on freedom of expression, while stressing that Decree-Law 115 of 2011 provides the specific legal framework and safeguards for journalistic work.
In light of the above, HuMENA calls for the following urgent measures:
- Immediately review Yousfi’s detention order and release him unless specific and lawful grounds, independent of his journalistic work and protected expression, justify his continued detention.
- Pending his release, provide him with adequate medical care, prescribed medication and medical supplies, and allow regular access to his family and lawyers.
- Guarantee his fair-trial and defence rights, and independently investigate the procedural violations reported by his lawyers, including the issuance of the detention order in his absence and before the defence was heard.
- Ensure that any investigation is based on concrete and verifiable evidence, and discontinue any proceedings arising from his journalism, Facebook posts, Al-Qatiba’s editorial line or other protected expression.
- The relevant UN Special Procedures should consider an urgent joint communication. The EU and diplomatic missions in Tunisia should raise the case with the authorities, seek information about Yousfi’s health and detention, and monitor the proceedings.
