RATING OVERVIEW

No major improvements in civic space were documented in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the past year. Out of 19 countries, civic space is rated as closed in nine, repressed in seven and obstructed in three. Tunisia is downgraded from obstructed to repressed, and as in previous years, no countries are rated as open or narrowed as in the MENA region.

In Saudi Arabia, the authoritarian government, intolerant of any criticism or dissent, continued to repress HRDs, with many of them, including Dr Mohammed AlQathtani, still serving long sentences behind bars. Several more such as Salma AlShehab and Nourah bint Saeed Al-Qahtani were sentenced to multiple decades in prison for their online activities in the past year, while many others continued to be held in detention despite completing their sentences. In Iran, protests that began in September 2022 have been met with a ruthless crackdown characterised by the use of lethal force, with the authorities killing over 500 protesters and detaining over 18,000 protesters, activists, journalists and students among others, while injuring many others.

In Algeria, an expansion of the definition of terrorism in 2021 was used to prosecute, intimidate and criminalise HRDs and activists, with at least 340 people jailed for their participation in peaceful protests or exercise of freedom of expression as of February 2022. In February 2022 alone, 27 HRDs were arrested. In Lebanon, the ongoing economic and political crisis led to several decrees imposing banking restrictions, to which people responded though forceful withdrawal of their funds and protests, which were met with repression.

In Qatar, which hosted the 2022 World Cup, CSOs increased their scrutiny of human rights, and particularly called for the protection of the rights of migrant workers and LGBTQI+ people, two groups whose rights have been systematically violated. In Egypt, the authorities embarked on a crackdown on environmental rights groups and journalists in the period leading up to the country hosting the COP27 climate summit. In Palestine, a crackdown on civil society labelled as terrorist organisations saw Israeli occupying forces enter, raid and seal the entrances of offices of seven CSOs in August 2022, damaging and confiscating property while doing so.

Civic space has worsened in Tunisia. The 2021 decisions of President Kais Saïed to freeze parliament, suspend the constitution, dismiss the head of government and indefinitely extend his extraordinary powers has resulted in a more hostile environment for civil society. In the past year, Saïed dissolved the Superior Council of the Judiciary, replaced it with a provisional mechanism, granted himself absolute power to fire judges summarily and dismissed dozens of judges. A new constitution took effect in August 2022 following a flawed drafting process, limited public consultation and a critically low referendum turnout of just over 30 per cent. The new constitution gives the president further powers without checks and balances and erodes judicial independence. Saïed also continued to crack down on prominent critics, perceived political opponents and civil society, including through arrest, detention and prosecution, and by issuing or initiating decrees that restrict fundamental freedoms. In particular, Decree-law 2022-54, issued in 2022, criminalises ‘fake news’ and rumours, posing a threat to independent journalism.

In response to the brutal onslaught on democratic space and civic freedoms, in October 2022, one of Tunisia’s biggest protest actions was held to denounce Saïed’s anti-democratic rule and the economic crisis that has led to food and fuel shortages. Tunisia’s downgrade comes after its addition to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist in March 2022 following a rapid decline in civic space.