Rights 227
Rights Rihab Boukhayatia 19 October 2022

Sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia: Marginalization of a replacement workforce

Some 57 thousand sub-Saharan migrants are currently living in Tunisia, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). To make ends meet, many of them take on precarious, underpaid jobs as builders, servers and agricultural workers. This demographic of foreign workers has replaced a Tunisian workforce that has shown itself reluctant to such economic activities. In the meantime, Tunisian legislation has failed to address what is becoming a dire socio-economic dilemma, as the absence of clear policy leaves free rein to all sorts of abuses against migrant workers.

Rights Rihab Boukhayatia 12 July 2022

Access to health care: It’s sink or swim for migrants in Tunisia

Tunisia is home to an ever-growing migrant population. And yet many migrants remain in an irregular situation. In the absence of a complete legal framework for refugees and asylum seekers, access to health services for this heterogeneous community is not only inadequate, but in some cases even non-existent. For certain migrants, their inability to seek proper treatment is a disadvantage with potentially fatal consequences.

Rights Mahdi Jlassi 23 May 2022

Police Impunity & Soccer: Tunisia’s Ultras in the line of fire

« The Omar Laâbidi case has been pushed back to center stage thanks to the « Learn to swim » campaign, and to the efforts of civil society and “Ultras” (groups of soccer team supporters). This has roused the anger of Tunisia’s security apparatus, inciting its recourse to intimidation », says one activist. In the midst of this highly charged atmosphere, police officers are responding through the blows of their batons.

Rights Mahdi Jlassi 30 March 2022

Documentary short film : « Black winter », a lookback at repression in 2021

On the 10th anniversary of the revolution, Tunisia witnessed what has become a usual spike in the number of protests carried out across the country especially during January. What distinguished 2021 from the rest was the diversity of backgrounds and motivations that propelled demonstrations. Among hundreds of Tunisians detained, many were minors; there were illegal night raids, arbitrary arrests, investigative reports that failed to respect detainee’s most basic rights; the suspicious death of a man in his thirties following his arbitrary arrest; another young man was tortured, one of his testicals removed. Neither the perpetrators nor those in power were held accountable for these repressive practices.

Rights Chahd Lina Belhadj 28 December 2021

Siliana: A Decade After, Victims Still Demand Justice

Over several days in late November 2012, police used birdshot against protesters in Siliana, injuring hundreds of people including demonstrators, journalists covering the demonstration, and bystanders, according to an Amnesty International report at the time. One investigative report by civil society put the number of injured at 178, and at least 20 people lost eyes or sustained severe damage to their eyes. Now, a decade later, these people are still calling on authorities to cover their healthcare costs, extend their social benefits, and hold the officials responsible for the use of birdshot accountable.

Rights Hafawa Rebhi 10 November 2021

Seeking Knowledge While Blind in Tunisia

In another world, Mohamed Gabsi would have studied technology and probably specialized in computer science. Instead, because of the limited access to study material accessible to disabled people like himself in his preferred field, he enrolled in the Faculty of Letters of Sousse. “I am a French graduate, technophile and blind,”the young man likes to introduce himself—both in everyday life and during his activities as a disability justice activist.

Rights Ghaya Ben Mbarek 03 September 2021

Tunisian Police Violently Disperse Peaceful Demonstrators, Journalists

On September 1, police violently dispersed a peaceful demonstration in downtown Tunis, punching, shoving, and using pepper spray against demonstrators as well as journalists who were there covering the event. Aside from some incidents in front of Parliament on July 26, Wednesday’s police repression was the first documented use of police violence against peaceful demonstrators since President Kais Saied suspended parliament and dismissed the government on July 25.

Rights Ghaya Ben Mbarek 12 August 2021

Fighting Covid Alone: Letter from Kairouan

Late last June, when it was the region hardest hit by Covid-19, Meshkal/Nawaat went to Kairouan. The tragic situation there foreshadowed what the rest of the nation has since been living through: a sharp spike in cases made much worse by a lack of basic State services, personnel, and supplies. Without enough doctors, ambulances, vaccines or vaccination teams, protective gear or nurses, many in Kairouan faced their spike by relying on family for care, exacerbating the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, medical personnel themselves were unable to get vaccines and many worked without receiving salaries promised in their contracts.

Rights Ghaya Ben Mbarek 12 June 2021

Sidi Hassine: After Another Man Dies in Police Encounter, “Who’s Next?” Citizens Ask

The death of 32-year-old Ahmed Ben Moncef Ben Ammar on June 8, allegedly while in police custody, has prompted several days of protests and clashes with police forces in the working class neighborhood of Sidi Hassine. Several people have been wounded, including a 15-year-old who was stripped naked and beaten in a widely-shared video that has prompted outrage. Sidi Hassine is also the neighborhood where 19-year-old Aymen Othman was killed when customs officials opened fire in 2018.

Rights Rihab Boukhayatia 08 April 2021

Amending Law 52 on narcotics: A Mixed Track Record

When three young people were recently sentenced to 30 years in prison in accordance with Law 52 on narcotics, it sparked controversy. A debate has reignited over the repressive nature of the law and the fate of drug consumers locked up for smoking a joint. Meanwhile, collectives and associations have come out calling for the depenalization and decriminalization of drug consumption. Their demand is not a new one, but it remains hostage to political procrastination. In 2017, the law was amended to be less restrictive, but has its application followed suit? What changes have taken place since 2017?