Amnesty International on June 17 urged Tunisian authorities to "immediately and unconditionally release" anti-racism activist Saadia Mosbah and five of her colleagues, calling on the Tunis appellate court to overturn their convictions.

Mosbah and her colleagues are affiliated with the anti-racism and rights organization Mnemty (which translates as "My Dream"), of which Mosbah was the 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 TND 122,000 (approx. US $36,000) while her colleagues were given prison terms of between one and three years as well as fines of up to TND 64,000 (approx. US $22,000).

Rights organizations have called the charges a miscarriage of justice and asserted that the judge presiding over the case did not provide any evidence proving 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 percent of the country’s population. In 2018, her work and the work of other activists 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 (MENA) 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 arbitrary detention ever since. Rights experts have also been concerned about reports of Mosbah being subjected to racism and physical assault tantamount to torture in prison.

In recent years, racism against Black Tunisians has been exacerbated by official political rhetoric, which has led to xenophobia and widespread violence. Amnesty has specifically accused Tunisian President Kais Saied of inciting racial discrimination and fuelling 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.