Rached Tamboura, Saïdia Mosbeh, Sherifa Riahi, Mahmoud Jouou, Yadh Boussalmi, Mustapha Jemali, Abderrazak Krimi, Abdallah Saïd, and Imen Ouardani are just some of the names of those who were victim of the repressive machine applied by the Tunisian authorities under the presidency of Kaïs Saïed for their work and their solidarity with those on the move.
Since July 25, 2021, and the proclamation of a state of emergency by President Kaïs Saïed, who suspended the Parliament, dismissed the heads of government, and took control of the executive and legislative branches, marking a halt to the democratic transition, the rule of law in Tunisia has been in crisis, and a veritable autocratic regime has been established. In this authoritarian context, dozens of judges have been arbitrarily dismissed, the press and media have been subjected to increasing restrictions, and activists, trade unionists, members of the opposition, lawyers, and journalists have been prosecuted and arrested.
December 18, 2024 : International Migrants Day, sit-in organized in Tunis
In this context, freedom-restricting reforms and the increasing use of the judicial system (both civilian and military) are the most effective tools for repressing opposition and controlling dissenting voices. A variety of instruments, both old and new, have been regularly used against opponents. Among the new instruments used, Decree-Law 2022-54 on combating offenses relating to information and communication systems has been used over the past two years to muzzle any dissenting voice and censor any criticism of the regime. With harsh sentences handed down for offenses linked to vague notions such as “spreading false news”, dozens of people are in prison for a simple post on social networks.
Although there have been no official developments regarding the reform of Decree-Law 88 on the organization of associations, civic space has been restricted, and dozens of organization representatives are now in prison with charges ranging from terrorism to money laundering and “conspiracy against state security”. These arrests are part of a context of criminalization of solidarity with people on the move that has intensified since May 2024, when repression affected many representatives of humanitarian organizations involved in supporting migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
This repression took place alongside hate campaigns against people on the move and racist rhetoric, inaugurated by the Tunisian President’s speech on February 21, 2023, which describes sub-Saharan migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers as a “threat” to Tunisian national identity. The Tunisian regime has adopted a security and racist policy, attacking people on the move, civil society organizations working closely with migrants, and any voices criticizing the president’s conspiratorial propaganda based on the theory of “ethnic substitution” or “great replacement”. In this climate of violence against sub-Saharan migrants, hostility towards civil society organizations active in the field of migrants’ rights and the fight against racism has intensified.
Anticipated by a smear campaign on social networks lasting several months, since the beginning of May 2024, the Tunisian authorities have targeted several associations and the representative personalities have been arrested or summoned by the police. The arrest of Saadia Mosbah, icon of the anti-racist struggle and president of the Tunisian association M’nemty, which fights against the various forms of racial discrimination in Tunisia, marked the beginning of a wave of repression that has hit the most exposed figures in humanitarian aid to people on the move.
This arrest was followed by that of Sherifa Riahi, former director of the organization Tunisie Terre d’Asile – active in promoting the right of asylum and defending the rights of refugees – on May 7, 2024, as well as by the arrest of two other members of the association, accused of money laundering. After just a few days, two members of the Tunisian Council for Refugees – an organization active in asylum issues in Tunisia – were taken into custody. On May 10, Iman El Wardani, deputy mayor of the municipality of Sousse who had helped implement integration activities for migrants, and Mohamed Iqbal Khaled, mayor of the municipality of Sousse, were arrested for money laundering, fraud, forming an association for the entry of foreigners and labor abuse.
Abdallah El Said, an activist of Chadian origin and president of the Association des Enfants de la Lune de Médenine – which works for the social and economic integration of migrants – and other employees of the association, were summoned in November by the anti-terrorist brigade. On November 12, 2024, Abdallah El Said was arrested for money laundering and plotting against the external security of the State.
Since December 2024, Saloua Ghrissa, founder of the Association pour la promotion du droit à la différence, has been detained on suspicion of foreign funding.
On January 24, 2025, the detention of Sonia Dahmani, lawyer and columnist, was confirmed for one year and six months for spreading “false” information under Decree 54 on racism and the situation of migrants in Tunisia.
Most of these people are in pre-trial detention awaiting trial. In a context where the principle of presumption of innocence is continually violated, and where people are guilty until proven innocent, preventive detention, which can only be justified as an exceptional measure, has become the rule. In addition to these arrests, dozens of representatives of various associations across Tunisia were repeatedly questioned about their activities within the associations and about finances received from abroad, association equipment raided and premises closed.
This repressive policy, which uses the judicial system to crush all dissent, aims on the one hand to reduce the space for civil society, pursuing the narrative against external interference and state sovereignty, and on the other to increasingly casualize and criminalize the journeys and lives of people on the move.
In a context where a statement, a public intervention, the distribution of food and supplies, a tag – Rached Tamboura was sentenced to two years detention for his graffiti denouncing the racist policies of President Kaïs Saïed -, a dissenting opinion, everything can be used to criminalize and repress, one question remains open: what responsibility do the European Union and its member states have in perpetuating the financing of security policies in Tunisia and in legitimizing its presidency?
Alarm Phone (Central Mediterranean team)
