Bangladesh, Nov. 14 -- Tunisia, once hailed as the lone democratic success story of the Arab Spring, is now slipping deeper into authoritarian rule as President Kais Saieds government intensifies its crackdown on opposition voices, human rights defenders, and independent media. Rights groups warn that the country is entering one of its darkest periods in decades, with a surge in politically motivated arrests, reports of torture, and the systematic dismantling of the institutions that once safeguarded democratic freedoms.

More than three years after Saied seized extraordinary powers in 2021-dissolving Parliament, dismissing the prime minister, and ruling by decree-his government has shown no signs of easing its grip. Instead, repression h...