Tunisian anti-racist activist Saadia Mosbah, imprisoned for nearly two years on charges of financial misconduct, was sentenced on Thursday to eight years in prison, her lawyer revealed.
The 66-year-old had been at the forefront of the fight to defend migrants from sub-Saharan Africa following a speech given in February 2023 by President Kais Saied, in which he denounced the arrival of “hordes of illegal migrants” and a plot “to change the demographic composition” of the country.
The activist was also fined a hefty 100,000 dinars (approximately 30,000 euros).
“This is a shocking judgment that has nothing to do with the case. It sends a clear message: activism is suspect in the eyes of the current regime,” Hela Ben Salem, a member of her defense team, told AFP, announcing her intention to appeal.
During Thursday’s hearing, lawyers for Ms. Mosbah, president of the M’nemty (“My Dream”) association, who was on trial with other members for money laundering and illicit enrichment, pleaded their innocence.
In this case, Ms. Mosbah’s son, Fares, who appeared in court as a free man, was sentenced to three years in prison, while a female activist received a two-year sentence. Three other members, however, were acquitted.
In a statement released the day before the hearing, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and the World Organisation Against Torture called on the Tunisian authorities to
“immediately release” Ms. Mosbah, given her age and health.
A dozen NGO activists gathered in Tunis on Thursday in front of the courthouse in support of the M’nemty members. As a reminder, Saadia Mosbah, a former flight attendant, was instrumental in the adoption, in 2018, of a pioneering law in the Maghreb against racial discrimination.
Since the power grab in the summer of 2021, in which President Kais Saied granted himself sweeping powers, local and international NGOs have regularly denounced a regression of rights and freedoms in Tunisia.
AK/te/fss/as/APA