A Tunisian court has released a group of NGO workers with suspended sentences after they were accused of helping migrants enter and stay in the country illegally. The decision ends a case that had attracted criticism from international human rights groups.
Sherifa Riahi, former director of the French NGO Terre d’Asile, and several colleagues had spent over 20 months in detention before the final hearing. A video posted by Riahi’s support committee showed her leaving prison, with reports confirming her colleagues were also freed.
Defence lawyer Mahmoud Daoud Yaacoub said the court handed a two-year suspended sentence to defendants who had been in pre-trial detention. Others out on bail will receive their judgments the following day.
The case involved 23 defendants, including 17 municipal employees from Sousse accused of allowing the NGO to use municipal premises. The group faced charges of “conspiracy” and aiding illegal migrants, carrying possible prison terms of up to 10 years. Other charges, including alleged financial wrongdoing, were previously dropped.
Lawyers for the NGO staff argued that the workers were performing state-approved humanitarian activities in coordination with government programs. Supporters gathered outside the courthouse during the final hearing, which lasted all day before the court retired to issue its verdict.
UN human rights expert Mary Lawlor had urged Tunisian authorities to release Riahi and her colleagues, calling the charges “dubious.” Migration remains a sensitive topic in Tunisia, a major transit point for thousands of people seeking to reach Europe.
The defendants were arrested in May 2024 alongside other humanitarian workers, including anti-racism activist Saadia Mosbah, whose trial is set to begin later this month. The crackdown follows statements by President Kais Saied in 2023 describing “illegal migrants” as a demographic threat, which led to forced expulsions and violent attacks against sub-Saharan migrants.
The European Union has also strengthened efforts to limit migrant arrivals, including a €255 million deal with Tunisia to curb migration across the Mediterranean.