On 15 December, human rights defenders Sherifa Riahi, Yadh Bousselmi and Mohamed Joo will face criminal trial before the Tunis Court of First Instance on bogus charges related to their work for Terre d’Asile Tunisie, the local branch of a French NGO that provides assistance to refugees and migrants. They have been held in arbitrary pretrial detention since their arrest in May 2024. Authorities also arrested Imen Ouardani at the same time, a former local official who stands accused in the same trial for her collaboration with the NGO. The human rights defenders and NGO workers were targeted as part of a broader crackdown on civil society supporting refugees and migrants, fuelled by racist and xenophobic rhetoric. Tunisian authorities must immediately release them and drop all charges against them as they are detained solely for carrying out their human rights work.
