Tunisia Jails Rights Defenders 25 Years, Fines $600 Million

TUNIS – Tunisian courts have sentenced eight human rights defenders to prison and massive fines for their work, including two prominent women who received harsh penalties, Human Rights Watch said today. On June 26, a Tunis court sentenced Sihem Bensedrine, former head of the Truth and Dignity Commission, to 25 years in prison. The court also ordered her and others to pay a joint fine of about 1.8 billion Tunisian dinars (US$600 million). Three days earlier, another court sentenced Saadia Mosbah, president of the antiracism group Mnemty, to eight years and a fine of 122,000 dinars ($41,400). Five other Mnemty members received prison terms of one to three years. "The harsh prison sentences and astronomical fines are another devastating blow to human rights defenders," said Bassam Khawaja, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "By targeting leading human rights figures, the authorities are crushing their demands and quashing the quest for social justice." The cases come as Tunisia cracks down on civil society groups. Authorities should free those detained and drop the charges, Human Rights Watch said. Bensedrine, 75, led the Truth and Dignity Commission from 2014 to 2018. The group worked to expose decades of human rights abuses. Tunisia's transitional justice law grants immunity to commission members for work done in that role. In one case, authorities charged Bensedrine with fraud and forgery over the commission's final report. A former commission member had complained in 2020 that she falsified the report on banking corruption. Bensedrine was held in pretrial detention from August 2024 until February 2025, after a hunger strike. In a second case, authorities charged her with using her position for unfair advantage over a reconciliation agreement with Slim Chiboub, a businessman and son-in-law of former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. A lawyer said the agreement was never used. Bensedrine received 20 years in the first case and five in the second. She remains free and has appealed. Bensedrine has worked for 40 years exposing rights abuses in Tunisia. She was jailed in 1987 and 2001, and lived in exile from 2010 until the 2011 revolution. She has strongly criticized President Kais Saied. Authorities also sentenced lawyer Khaled Krichi, a former commission member arrested on June 3, to 10 years for his commission work. The case against Mosbah began in May 2024, during a wider crackdown on refugee aid groups. Mosbah, who is Black, faced a racist online smear campaign from pro-government accounts. She helped pass a 2018 law against racial discrimination. Authorities arrested Mosbah on May 6, 2024. They charged her with illicit enrichment and money laundering. She has remained in detention, though Tunisian law limits pretrial detention to 14 months. Her family said she faced racist attacks from inmates and guards. A court convicted her on March 19, 2026, and an appeals court upheld the sentence on June 23. The appeals court also sentenced five other Mnemty members. Ghofrane Binous received three years in absentia. Zied Rouin and Fares Gueblaoui got two-year suspended terms and fines. Two others received suspended sentences. Five lost their voting and candidacy rights for five years. Tunisia is a party to international treaties that guarantee freedom of expression and fair trials. In 2025, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination urged Tunisia to protect civil society groups. "Tunisian authorities should implement the laws Bensedrine and Mosbah fought for, not dismantle their struggle," Khawaja said. "International partners, including the European Union, should condemn this persecution and press Tunisia to protect civic space."