Mosbah and her colleagues are affiliated with the anti-racism and rights organization Mnemty (“My Dream”), with Mosbah serving as president. In May 2024, Mosbah and several other activists, including her co-defendants, were arrested on charges of money laundering and “illicit enrichment.” In March, the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced Mosbah to eight years in prison and a fine of TND122,000 (approx. USD$36,000) while her colleagues were given prison terms of between one and three years as well as fines of up to TND64,000 (approx. $22,000).

Rights organizations have called the charges a miscarriage of justice and asserted that the investigative judge presiding in the case failed to provide any conclusive evidence that the activists had engaged in illegal financial activities. Amnesty’s North Africa researcher Safia Rayan stated:

The initial verdict issued on 19 March against Saadia Mosbah and other Mnemty staff and collaborators, among them four who now risk imminent arrest, is shocking and profoundly unjust. It is another appalling indictment of the Tunisian authorities’ ongoing weaponization of the criminal justice system to silence civil society. It is shocking how far the authorities are willing to go in their assault on the right to freedom of association and human rights work, disproportionately targeting Black and anti-racism defenders.

Amnesty also criticized the statutory provision used to convict Mosbah and her colleagues. Specifically, the rights group said that the definition of “illicit enrichment” is not clearly defined, and that there is ambiguity in the language “important increase in the fortune of the person.” This has led to allegations that the charges were brought in retaliation against Mosbah and her colleagues as part of a campaign to repress rights groups. The appellate hearings opened last month. The appeal presents renewed hope that the convictions will be overturned.

As president of Mnemty, Mosbah has spearheaded multiple efforts to address the country’s longstanding issue of racism against minority groups, particularly the Black Tunisian community who make up roughly 10 to 15% of the country’s population. In 2018, this work culminated in the adoption of Organic Law 2018-50, which criminalized racial discrimination and made Tunisia the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to do so. Amnesty said her position as a key figure in the fight for equality in Tunisia led to her arrest; she has remained in detention ever since. Rights experts are also concerned about reports of Mosbah being subjected to racist abuse and physical assault tantamount to torture in prison.

In recent years, racism against Black Tunisians has been exacerbated by official political rhetoric, amid a rise in xenophobia and violence. Amnesty has accused Tunisian President Kais Saied of inciting racial discrimination and fueling a hostile environment in the country. Tunisia is a party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits discrimination based on race.

From JURIST, June 19. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Huda1977 via Wikimedia Commons

Türk criticized the growing trend of the government’s infringement on the fundamental right to freedom of expression, stating:

Restrictions on fundamental freedoms must remain exceptional, grounded in clear law, be necessary and proportionate to pursue a legitimate objective, non-discriminatory and accompanied by due process and effective judicial oversight. Upholding the rule of law in Tunisia requires stronger institutional safeguards, the protection of civic space, and inclusive, rights based legislative reform, in line with the country’s international human rights commitments.

The government’s ongoing crackdown on the media has seen the enactment of dangerously vague laws filled with ambiguous provisions, Türk said. Such provisions, which lack adequate specificity and internationally-mandated legal safeguards, have been weaponized by authorities, leading to selective enforcement. For instance, in late April, journalist Zied El Heni was arrested and charged under a new law that criminalizes the use of telecommunication networks to “harm others.”

The main issue with this law is that no guidance has been provided as to what the word “harm” constitutes, or what degree of commission of harm would fall under the scope of the statute. This can be clearly seen in another case last year, in which 28 journalists, including Mourad Zghidi, were arrested and sentenced for exhibiting conduct that fell under the broad scope of a 2022 law that ostensibly tackles crime related to information and communication systems, but has been assailed as vaguely worded and susceptible to political weaponization.

In addition to the crackdown on media workers, Tunisian authorities have targeted members of the judicial branch of government. Charges have been brought against Judge Anas Hmedi, president of the Association of Tunisian Judges, over a protest he organized to oppose government interference in the judiciary. Judge Hammadi Rahmani was sentenced in absentia in April 2025 by a Tunisian court to three years’ imprisonment on charges of “insulting others on social media.”

The arbitrary nature of the charges against, along his violent arrest and subsequent detention, were compounded by the fact that he still had judicial immunity from criminal proceedings when the charges were first unveiled. The sustained decline of the human rights situation in the country has ensued since the events of July 2021, when President Kais Saied suspended parliament, dismissed the prime minister, and declared that he would rule by decree.

From JURIST, May 10. Used with permission.

Image: Grunge Love

Note: Activist Saber Ben Chouchane, who received a death sentence for social media posts critical of the government last year, was pardoned by President Kais Saied after an outcry from international human rights groups in October. (Al Jazeera)

Tadjadit was accused of spreading “subversive content” and undermining public institutions, and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment upon his conviction in January 2025. The charges concern Tadjadit’s participation in the #ManichRadhi (I am not satisfied) campaign, which mobilized social media users to express discontent with the government. Between 2019 and 2024, he had been imprisoned multiple times for participating in peaceful protests, and for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

The UN experts stated that the new charges now being brought appear to be based on the same conduct underlying the earlier offenses, raising concerns that the “reclassification” contravenes the prohibition on double jeopardy. The experts emphasized that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in Opinion No. 45/2022 adopted in October 2022, had already found that Tadjadit’s right to a fair trial had been violated, and that he and his co-defendants had been punished for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression, contrary to international law. They further stated that the Court of Algiers must halt the trial now scheduled to open, and drop all new charges that could expose Tadjadit to the death penalty.

Amnesty International also criticized the decision of the Algiers Court of Appeals this January to uphold Tadjadit’s conviction on separate charges of “glorifying terrorism,” “offending public bodies,” and “inciting an unarmed gathering,” arguing that these charges stem solely from his expression of opinion through social media posts and poetry. Amnesty International called for his immediate and unconditional release, and for all charges against him to be dropped on the grounds that they arise solely from the exercise of his fundamental rights.

From JURIST, April 30. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Amnesty International

In related news, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week that he and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa hope to see 80% of Syrian refugees in Germany return to Syria in the coming three years. Merz’s call for Syrians to “go back to their homeland,” which came after his meeting with al-Sharaa in Berlin, drew condemnation from human rights monitors who pointed to continued violence and insecurity in Syria. (TNH, Jurist)

Photo: Sara Creta/TNH

Photo: US Navy via Wikimedia Commons

The retrial, opening this week at the Algiers Court of Appeals, comes after the Supreme Court overturned an appeal ruling against the defendants in November 2024. The Supreme Court found legal flaws in the Court of Appeal ruling, including fair trial violations, claims by the defendants that their confessions were obtained under torture, a lack of prosecution evidence, and significant due process hurdles, such as defense lawyers being unable to cross-examine prosecution witnesses.

Deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, Diana Eltahawy, commented: “The flawed investigation and grossly unfair trial that led to these callous death sentences are a stain on Algeria’s justice system. The new trial represents an important opportunity for the Algerian authorities to end the travesty of justice, redress past violations and ensure accountability without recourse to the death penalty.”

In August 2021, Algerian artist Djamel Ben Ismail was wrongly accused of starting the devastating wildfires that ravaged 18 provinces in Algeria that year, leading to the deaths of around 90 people. Ismail was subsequently tortured and murdered by angry locals, with graphic footage of the incident spreading through various social media platforms. In November 2022, an Algerian court handed down death sentences to 49 people for their roles in the gruesome murder, with 38 death sentences being upheld in October 2023.

Amnesty has criticized the prosecution of these defendants as a violation of the rule of law, stating that the convictions against at least 10 of the accused appear to have been politically motivated, as they were affiliated with the opposition Movement for the Self-determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated as a terrorist organization by authorities. Additionally, some defendants were tried in absentia, a violation of the right to be present at one’s trial. This is a direct contravention of Article 14(3)(d) of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to a fair trial, and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human & Peoples’ Rights, both of which Algeria is a party to.

As Algeria has not carried out any executions since 1993, the trials will be closely watched by international opponents of the death penalty.

From JURIST, March 2. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Map: Kabyle.com

A joint investigation by the Internal Security Agency and Battalion 166 led to the unearthing of the mass grave. The investigators ordered that DNA samples be collected from the remains to identify the deceased and that full autopsies be carried out to determine causes of death. The suspect (MFH) had been previously charged with three offenses related to the murder of migrants and additional human trafficking offenses.

Refugees in Libya, a Libyan-run organization registered in Italy that provides support for refugees, urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Karim Khan, to “assess this case within the Court’s mandate.” The group further stated: “The killings…occurred within a system where people are blocked, intercepted, returned, and abandoned in Libya after being denied safe pathways to protection. This demands accountability beyond Libya.”

Seawatch International, an NGO that saves migrants in distress in the Mediterranean Sea, condemned EU policies for endangering migrant lives: “Horrifying news: In Libya, a mass grave with at least 21 persons was discovered. Their deaths are a direct consequence of EU migration politics. Libya is not a safe place for people on the move!”

Libya has emerged in recent years as a key route for human trafficking. Mass graves of presumed migrants who had been detained and killed by armed groups have been uncovered repeatedly—from 2022 to February and June of last year. Libya is also now serving as a starting point for flights trafficking migrants to Nicaragua, with an intended final destination of the United States.

Article 426 of the Libyan Penal Code prohibits the trafficking of enslaved people, and imposes a punishment of imprisonment not exceeding ten years. Furthermore, Article 428 criminalizes the deprivation of another’s liberty by a period of imprisonment not exceeding five years. A US State Department report identifies the lack of a functioning judiciary, endemic corruption, and the strength of non-state armed groups as causes behind the surge of human trafficking in Libya.

From JURIST, Jan. 18. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Note: This case evidently invovled some coordination between Libya’s two rival governments, as Battalion 166 appears to be aligned with the breakaway regime in the east, yet seemingly cooperated with authorities from the internationally recognized Government of National Unity based in Tripoli. The Internal Security Agency appears to be a holdover agency from the Qaddafi dictatorship, and it is unclear which faction it is aligned with.

Map: Perry-Castañeda Library

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Photo: Horn Diplomat via Wikipedia

From The New Humanitarian, Oct. 31

Image: Pixabay

In 2023, a UN Fact-Finding Mission in Libya found reasonable grounds to believe that high-ranking staff of the Libyan Coast Guard colluded with human traffickers and smugglers reportedly connected to militia groups. These officials allegedly demanded and received payments in exchange for turning detained migrants over to the militia groups, in whose hands they were subjected to forced labor and other abuses.

Human rights organizations and refugee advocacy groups have consistently called for the termination of the agreement. Civil society networks, like Refugees in Libya, have mobilized efforts to stop renewal of the MoU, which is set to occur on Nov. 2.

Judith Sunderland, associate Europe director at HRW, urged the EU and all of its member states, including Italy, to “stop financing and legitimizing violence against migrants and fundamentally reorient [their] Mediterranean policies to prioritize rescue at sea and safe and legal pathways for migration.”

The HRW statement came days before the European Commission and the EU border control agency Frontex were to host a delegation of Libyan migration officials at the Frontex headquarters in Warsaw. HRW called on EU officials to use the opportunity to demand respect for human rights and accountability for abuses.

From JURIST, Oct. 13. Used with permission.

Map: Perry-Castañeda Library