Attacks on black African migrants
On 24 September 2024, a request was submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by lawyers acting for family members of detained Tunisian opposition politicians Rached Ghannouchi, Said Ferjani, Ghazi Chaouachi, Chaima Issa, Noureddine Bhiri, and Ridha Belhaj (who was killed in a protest). The Applicants are represented by a legal team led by Rodney Dixon KC, Temple Garden Chambers, London and The Hague. They are asking the ICC urgently to investigate the heightened attacks on black African migrants in Tunisia, which have resulted in widespread deaths and severe mistreatment, and the mass crackdown on the democratic opposition movement to Kais Saied’s regime. Tunisia is a State Party of the ICC and the Court has jurisdiction over the alleged crimes being perpetrated by the current regime.
Since dissolving parliament in March 2022 Kais Saied has been systematically suppressing all political opposition and civil society. In parallel, his regime has brutally targeted black Tunisians and sub-Saharan black migrants. Several of his political opponents remain arbitrarily detained on fabricated charges and endure ill-treatment in detention, often denied access to lawyers. And yet, Saied is now seeking a new five-year term in the presidential election scheduled for 6 October 2024. Of the 17 candidates who declared their intention to run for the presidency, 14 were either arrested or disqualified on questionable grounds, including Ghazi Chaouachi who was banned from standing. In early September at the official start of the presidential campaign season, dozens of members of Tunisia’s largest opposition party were arrested during an unprecedented campaign of raids. The Independent High Authority for Elections (Instance Supérieure Indépendante pour les Élections, ISIE), which is now under the control of the President since 2022, has approved only 3 candidates in total including Kais Saied.
The request filed today highlights all of these recent violations. It builds on the first complaint submitted on 5 October 2023 to the ICC by the legal team requesting an investigation into the alleged crimes committed by Kais Saied and his Ministers against those detained and against black Tunisians and migrants. In light of the recent escalation of violence against migrants, and fresh evidence obtained by the legal team from migrants themselves, a new request has been submitted to the ICC. Rodney Dixon KC stated that “The new evidence shows that black African migrants are facing brutal and heartless treatment at the hands of the Tunisian authorities. The ICC has the jurisdiction to investigate these alleged crimes against humanity and should act with the full force of international law to protect those most vulnerable”.
In particular, since September 2023, deportations to desert areas have been carried out on irregular basis and on a significant scale and continue to this day. Countless migrants report similar experiences of arbitrary arrest on land or at sea followed by collective expulsion to desert regions along the border with Algeria and Libya, while being beaten, mistreated, and suffering psychological abuse. Conditions in the desert are dire, with temperatures reaching around 40°C and no access to water or food, which has caused the deaths of several migrants.
On 9 July 2024, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk revealed the recent discovery of a mass grave in the desert at the Libyan-Tunisian border, stating that between April 2023 and March 2024, 2400 people died or went missing trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Recent evidence also suggests that the situation for Black migrants expelled by the Tunisian authorities from major cities like Sfax, and not deported to the border, continues rapidly to deteriorate. Migrants live in camps in remote areas under inhumane conditions lacking adequate housing, food and humanitarian assistance. Several sources have also confirmed the destruction of the camps by the Tunisian authorities who have set fire to tents and attacked migrants.
Significantly, the ICC is conducting investigations in Libya for similar crimes perpetrated against black African migrants. Given the rising gravity of the situation in Tunisia, it is essential that it is examined in the same way. The two investigations would go hand in hand and complement each other. An investigation in Tunisia would address issues such as the deportation of migrants into the desert at the Libyan–Tunisian border and cover the entire route along which migrants are forced, which extends beyond Libya and into Tunisia, often to Mediterranean coast.
Elyes Chaouachi, the son of Ghazi Chaouchi who is the Former Secretary General of the Social Democratic Political Party Attayar and a political prisoner, stated : “ In Tunisia, the pillars of democracy and human rights are under siege, as autocracy, racism, antisemitism and hate speech rise unchecked. We urge the ICC and the international community to take a stand— support humanity, uphold justice, and restore dignity. Our voices for freedom and equality must not go unheard ”.
Kaouther Ferjani, the daughter of imprisoned Ennahda Party member Said Ferjani, added: “Weurge the ICC to investigate the crimes currently being committed in Tunisia against Black African migrants as well as the crackdown on freedoms through the arbitrary arrests of politicians, civil society, journalists, human rights activists and lawyers. As the president continues to jail his opponents while seizing the judiciary, we have been left with no option but to seek justice outside of Tunisia”.
A press event was held on Tuesday 24 September 2024 at Temple Garden Chambers in The Hague(Netherlands) to discuss the ICC case for Tunisia, gathering families of detained Tunisian politicians; David Yambio (Refugee Human RightsDefender, Co-founder of Refugees in Libya); Black Tunisians and migrantswho have personally experienced mistreatment by Tunisian authorities; and lawyersrepresenting those detained in Tunisia.
Press conference
Website – https://www.refugeesinlibya.org/
