What You Need to Know
• Tunisia’s authorities have intensified pressure on civil society, prosecuting at least 47 activists and NGO workers.
• Human Rights Watch reported that 10 individuals have been held in preventive detention for over 14 months.
• Prominent human rights defender Saadia Mosbah was sentenced to eight years in prison for financial crimes on March 19.
Tunisia’s authorities have escalated their crackdown on civil society, prosecuting activists and non-governmental organization (NGO) workers, while investigating the finances of various groups. In a report released on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch documented a range of repressive actions, including arrests, lengthy preventive detentions, and the suspension of numerous associations, which have significantly restricted the civic space that developed after the 2011 revolution. The rights group noted that at least 47 individuals connected to NGOs have faced prosecution, with 10 held in preventive detention beyond the legal limit of 14 months. Among those convicted is Saadia Mosbah, a prominent human rights defender, who received an eight-year prison sentence on March 19 for financial crime charges. Additionally, five employees from organizations aiding asylum seekers were also convicted, leading to the cessation of their activities.
Why It Matters
The current situation in Tunisia reflects a broader trend of increasing repression against civil society since the 2011 revolution, which initially expanded civic freedoms. The crackdown has particularly targeted organizations involved in politically sensitive issues, such as migration, amid rising tensions regarding the treatment of sub-Saharan Africans. President Kais Saied’s controversial statements in February 2023, labeling the presence of sub-Saharan migrants as part of a “criminal plan,” have further fueled this crackdown. Human Rights Watch has highlighted the misuse of laws criminalizing assistance to irregular migrants and the application of Tunisia’s 2015 counterterrorism and money-laundering legislation to suppress civil society activities.
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