TUNIS, Sept 5, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Tunisian authorities detained journalist Mohamed Yousfi on Friday as he arrived for a radio interview, the programme host and head of Tunisia's journalists' union said.

Press freedom groups have voiced concerns over civil liberties in Tunisia, where journalists, lawyers, opposition figures and activists have faced arrest and prosecution in recent years.

"My guest, journalist Mohamed Yousfi, editor-in-chief of the Alqatiba website, was stopped in front of the (Express FM) radio lobby," host Walid Ben Rhouma said in a Facebook post.

"He was barred from entering to participate in the programme as a guest and was taken away for questioning, according to those who stopped him."

Zied Dabbar, president of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) said it was unclear why Yousfi was detained, but that he believed the move was linked to his journalism critical of the authorities.

Alqatiba is an independent Tunisian media outlet known for investigative reporting and long-form coverage of political, economic, social and environmental issues.

Dabbar told AFP that Yousfi had been due to discuss water issues in Tunisia during the broadcast.

Water cuts have affected parts of Tunisia in previous summers, but this year's outages spread across much of the country, compounded by a shortage of bottled water.

Yousfi's detention follows a series of cases that rights groups and the SNJT have cited as evidence of shrinking public freedoms in the North African country.

On Thursday, lawyer Ghazi Mrabet, known for handling politically sensitive and civil liberties cases, was arrested and placed in custody, according to local media reports.

The case reportedly involves alleged drug trafficking, although there are conflicting accounts of the circumstances.