"A general view of the Court of First Instance during a demon..."

#13099492

15 December 2025

A general view of the Court of First Instance during a demonstration takes place in Tunis, Tunisia, on December 15, 2025. The rally brings together supporters, feminist activists, women's rights organizations, and civil society groups to show solidarity with the defendants, members of the NGO 'Terre d'Asile Tunisie', the Tunisian branch of the French NGO 'France Terre d'Asile', as they appear before the court for their first hearing. The advocates for migrant aid and refugee rights face charges over allegations of forming an alliance to shelter irregular migrants and facilitating their stay. The case also involves the civil society activist and former Executive Director of NGO 'Terre d'Asile Tunisie', Sherifa Riahi, who is detained since May 2024. International human rights groups, including Amnesty International, condemn the charges as ''bogus'' and part of a trend criminalizing humanitarian aid in Tunisia. They demand the immediate release of Sherifa Riahi and the other defendants and for the charges to be dropped, citing the ''politically motivated nature of the case''.

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#12252215

11 April 2025

A general view of the court of First Instance in Tunis, Tunisia, on April 11, 2025, shows a protest organized by human rights activists, civil society organizations, and relatives and families of detained political opposition figures. The protest supports the detainees in the so-called ''conspiracy against state security'' case during the second remote hearing of the court. The demonstrators demand a public trial and reject the remote trial previously decided by the court. They also protest against what they consider an unfair and invalid trial, calling for the release of the detainees and accusing the Tunisian president, Kais Saied, of using the judiciary to persecute those who reject his policies. In this context, professor and political opposition figure Jawhar Ben Mbarek, one of the most prominent detainees, is on hunger strike since March 30 in protest at his continued arbitrary detention. Since February, Tunisia sees a wave of arrests of journalists, activists, judges, businessmen, and politicians, including the leader of the Ennahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, who is detained since April 2023.

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#12120845

4 March 2025

A general view of the court of First Instance in Tunis, Tunisia, on March 4, 2025, shows a protest organized by the National Salvation Front (NSF), a political coalition of various political parties including the Islamist party Ennahda, and the Tunisian Network for Freedoms and Rights. Dozens of protesters from the main political parties opposed to Tunisian President Kais Saied's policies gather in support of the political detainees in the so-called ''conspiracy against state security'' case during the first remote court hearing. Demonstrators and detainees' families demand a public trial and reject the remote trial. They also call for the release of the detainees and accuse Tunisia's President of using the judiciary to prosecute those who reject his policies and the exceptional measures he imposed on July 25, 2021. Since February 2023, Tunisia experiences a wave of arrests, including media figures, activists, judges, business people, and politicians, including Ennahda party leader Rached Ghannouchi, who has been imprisoned since April 2023.

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