Victor Dupont, a French Ph.D. student researching social movements and youth unemployment in Tunisia, has been released and returned to France, according to an announcement by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, November 15.
Dupont, one of three French nationals detained in Tunisia on October 19, had been held for weeks and appeared before a military court in Le Kef on charges reportedly related to national security. While two of the other detained individuals were released earlier, the status of a woman with dual French-Tunisian citizenship remains unclear.
French authorities, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Higher Education, along with the French embassy and consulate in Tunis, had been actively involved in monitoring Dupont’s case since his arrest. “Our embassy and consulate remain engaged with follow-ups on this case,” stated Christophe Lemoine, a spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry.
Dupont had traveled to Tunisia to conduct research interviews as part of his doctoral studies but was detained less than two weeks after arriving. His arrest has raised significant concerns among academic circles, with critics asserting that the charges are unjust and an alarming precedent for academic freedom in Tunisia. Asli Bali, president of the Middle East Studies Association and a professor at Yale Law School, described the accusations as baseless, emphasizing that Dupont’s work posed no threat to state security.
“Dupont’s arrest underscores the limitations on academic freedom in Tunisia and sets a concerning precedent for future social research in the country,” Bali wrote in a letter on November 9.
The 27-year-old student regained his freedom on November 12 and returned to France on November 15. Neither French nor Tunisian officials have commented publicly on the details surrounding his detention.
The case comes amid growing concerns from NGOs about shrinking civil liberties under Tunisian President Kais Saied. While researchers in the Middle East and North Africa often face surveillance, arrests and prosecutions, particularly in military courts, remain rare. The incident has drawn comparisons to the 2016 case of Giulio Regeni, an Italian Ph.D. student found dead in Egypt, which remains a significant point of tension between Italy and Egypt.
