Detained Tunisian lawyer Ahmed Souab wins 2025 Ebru Timtik Award for a lifetime dedicated to rule of law and fair trials

An international jury of human rights, legal, and political experts has named Tunisian lawyer Ahmed Souab, who was arrested and detained in April on “terrorism-related charges” for speaking out against sham trials targeting Tunisian President Kais Saied’s political opponents, as the unanimous winner of the 2025 Ebru Timtik Award.

“From his time as a judge, where he issued landmark rulings in defense of legality under dictatorship, to his current work as a lawyer defending political prisoners and dismissed judges, Souab has never compromised his values,” said the official announcement, made at this year’s International Fair Trial Day event in Brussels. “Despite enduring relentless political persecution, threats, and now imprisonment, he continues to speak out with integrity and courage.“ 

Named for a Turkish lawyer who died in 2020 following a 238-day hunger strike in protest against human rights violations in her country, which she experienced first-hand both as a lawyer and a prisoner, the Ebru Timtik Award is made annually to an individual, individuals, or organisation that’s made a significant contribution to the defence and promotion of the right to a fair trial in that year’s focus country. 

“We unanimously award the 2025 Ebru Timtik Prize to Ahmed Souab - not only to honor a lifetime devoted to the rule of law and fair trials, but also because his current situation requires urgent international solidarity and visibility,” said the jury.

Born in 1957 in a working-class neighbourhood in Tunis, Ahemed Souab rose from modest beginnings to become one Tunisia’s most respected jurists and legal minds, noted the official announcement. After earning degrees in public law in Tunisia and France, he “began a public service career marked by principle rather than privilege”, resigning from a ministerial post in 1991 rather than joining increasingly authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s ruling party. 

“He then became a judge at Tunisia’s Administrative Court, where his bold, precedent setting rulings challenged authoritarian overreach and earned him recognition across the political spectrum. Throughout his judicial career, Souab consistently defended those targeted by the regime, including civil servants dismissed for their political affiliations and victims of institutional injustice. His fairness extended even to ideological adversaries from his youth, and his rulings remain widely studied in Tunisia today.”

After the Jasmine Revolution, which ousted Ben Ali in January 2011 and sparked the wider Arab Spring uprisings that followed in several countries, Souab became a vital force in civil society, working with leading rights organisations and trade unions, co-founding the Union of Administrative Judges, and advising on critical reforms. 

“Despite his contributions, he was repeatedly sidelined by political actors, yet he never wavered from his mission to uphold democratic and legal principles. Following his retirement, Souab became a lawyer and a vocal critic of Tunisia’s democratic backsliding under President Kais Saied. He defended dozens of political detainees and dismissed judges, used his media platform to expose due process violations, and remained a fearless advocate for justice.”

Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, called Souab a “deeply deserving recipient” of the Ebru Timtik Award, while noting that International Fair Trial Day was a vital moment of global reflection on the right to a fair trial and the increasing threats to due process around the world.

Avocats Sans Frontières, which was among those who nominated Souab, thanked the jury for acknowledging Souab’s bravery and vision. “Ahmed Souab is more than a jurist. He is a symbol of integrity. From standing against Ben Ali’s dictatorship as an independent judge, to defending revolutionaries, political prisoners, and dismissed judges under President Saied’s regime, his courage has never wavered.”

This award is more than a recognition, they said. It is a statement. It affirms that justice knows no borders, and that those who fight for it will not be forgotten.