Sonia Dahmani, a prominent Tunisian lawyer and outspoken critic of government abuses, was violently arrested in May 2024 for denouncing state repression on live television. Since then, she has been held in Manouba women’s prison, where conditions amount to psychological and physical torment.

Five women share a 20-square-metre cell crawling with rats and lizards. Sonia has lost more than 20 kilos on the meagre prison diet. Family food deliveries are permitted only twice a week, and only if completely bland: no salt, no pepper, no warmth. She hasn’t had a hot meal in nine months.

Even basic dignity is stripped away. “You’re standing, and a lizard falls on your head. You’re lying down and a rat brushes against your foot,” Sonia told her family. She is allowed one shower a week, often cold, and denied items as simple as nail clippers or a mirror. The result is humiliation designed to break her spirit.

Yet despite the conditions, Sonia refuses to be silenced. Her sister Ramla, forced into exile, has shared testimony to expose the reality of Tunisia’s use of prison as a tool of repression. Sonia now faces multiple charges carrying sentences of up to 40 years.

The interview with Ramla Dahmani, Sonia’s sister, detailing the relentless prison harassment, continues here.