Accused of having facilitated the stay of irregular migrants, humanitarian and municipal actors appear before the Tunisian justice system.
Justice is opening a highly anticipated trial targeting former officials of the NGO Terre d’Asile and municipal elected officials of Sousse, prosecuted for their role in humanitarian aid provided to sub-Saharan migrants. At the heart of the affair, Sherifa Riahi, former director of Terre d’Asile Tunisie. Civil society and international NGOs are calling for the release of the detainees.
Humanitarian and municipal actors before the courts
Sherifa Riahi appears alongside Yadh Bousselmi, current director of Terre d’Asile Tunisie, financial director Mohamed Joo, as well as the former mayor of Sousse Mohamed Ikbal Khaled and his deputy Imen Ouardani. The alleged acts are part of a partnership concluded in 2022 between the municipality of Sousse and the NGO.
The defendants are being prosecuted for harboring people who entered the country illegally, and for facilitating the entry, movement or illegal stay of foreigners. Accusations rejected outright by the defense, which affirms that the actions carried out were strictly humanitarian assistance.
For Me Seiffallah Ben Meftah, lawyer for Sherifa Riahi, “the file is basically empty”, he declared to rfi. He states that “Terre d’Asile has already been cleared in this matter and considers the prosecution of its employees inconsistent. According to him, the legal outcome remains uncertain, even if he says he is convinced of the innocence of the accused.
A recent precedent fuels the hope of relatives: two humanitarian executives working on migration were released after two years of detention, a decision seen as a positive signal.
Mobilization of civil society
The trial comes in a context of increased mobilization of civil society. Amnesty International calls the proceedings a “sham trial” and demands the release of people detained for a year and eight months.
According to the NGO, the defendants are being prosecuted solely for having provided vital aid and protection to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in very vulnerable situations.
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