(Beirut) – Five employees of the Tunisian Council for Refugees will stand trial on May 13, 2026, after appealing criminal sentences for their work assisting asylum seekers and refugees, Human Rights Watch said today. The Tunisian authorities should end the abusive prosecution of the employees, compensate them for their unlawful detention, and stop the widespread crackdown on civil society groups.
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The arrest and prosecution of employees of the Tunisian Council for Refugees is part of a broader crackdown on civil society groups providing aid to refugees and migrants in Tunisia. The Council, which operated legally in Tunisia and was almost exclusively funded by the UNHCR, provided essential services to asylum seekers and refugees. The charges against the employees are based solely on their legitimate work, raising concerns about freedom of association, arbitrary arrest and detention, fair t...