Tunisia: Calls for the release of French researcher Victor Dupont
Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, French researcher Victor Dupont, who was arrested on October 19 in Tunisia, remains in custody, and his friends and colleagues at Aix-Marseille University have now launched a petition demanding his release.
Three weeks after his arrest, negotiations with Tunisian authorities have yet to yield results, and frustration is mounting among Dupont’s supporters. His friends and academic peers, from Aix-Marseille University and other institutions, believe his detention is an infringement on academic freedoms, prompting them to take action with the petition.
Victor Dupont, described by those who know him as “an enthusiast of the Arab world” with a strong commitment to the Palestinian cause, is a prominent figure in French research on the region. He began his studies in Cairo before continuing his academic journey in Tunis. Dupont is currently accused by Tunisian authorities of conspiring against state security.
A doctoral student at the Institute for Research and Studies on the Arab and Muslim Worlds (Iremam), which is affiliated with the CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Dupont was conducting research on the socio-professional paths of youth involved in the 2011 Tunisian revolution. His work took him to the impoverished regions of northwestern Tunisia, where he investigated the aftermath of the revolution. His academic focus on the country led him to write his master’s thesis on Tunisian parliamentary life following President Kaïs Saïed’s consolidation of power in 2021. More recently, Dupont published an article in a geopolitics journal, where he predicted that Saïed’s autocratic rule would eventually clash with Tunisia’s economic and social realities. He also co-signed a column criticizing Tunisia’s treatment of sub-Saharan migrants, describing it as “racist.”
His arrest has raised alarm among human rights advocates, as Tunisia has seen an increase in the imprisonment of so-called “prisoners of conscience” in recent months.
