Responding to news that the Tunis Court of First Instance convicted human rights defenders Mustapha Djemali and Abderrazek Krimi yesterday evening, and released them due to the time already served after they have spent more than 18 months in arbitrary detention, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sara Hashash said:
“Their release is a huge relief for families who will be celebrating being reunited with their loved ones after more than 18 months in arbitrary detention. However, it is still outrageous that Mustapha Djemali and Abderrazek Krimi have been detained and now convicted for their humanitarian work for the Tunisian Council for Refugees. These two human rights defenders and humanitarian workers have been arbitrarily detained and subjected to a bogus criminal investigation, simply for doing their jobs. Their organization was carrying out essential work assisting refugees and asylum seekers in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Tunisian authorities.
These two human rights defenders and humanitarian workers have been arbitrarily detained and subjected to a bogus criminal investigation, simply for doing their jobs.
Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for MENA
“Mustapha Djemali, 81, and Abderrazek Krimi, 61, should never have been investigated, let alone prosecuted. Providing shelter and assistance to people at risk is a human rights imperative. The charges against them, including ‘forming an organization’ to ‘assist the clandestine entry’ of migrants, are a misuse of anti-smuggling laws to stifle civic space. This verdict sends a chilling message to human rights defenders and organizations working in Tunisia, suggesting that they risk arrest and imprisonment for fulfilling their mandate.
“This case is a stark example of the wider crackdown by Tunisian authorities on civil society and the rights of refugees and migrants, marked by arbitrary arrests, racially discriminatory practices, and xenophobic rhetoric. The authorities must quash the conviction.
“The Tunisian government must respect its obligations under international law, including the rights to freedom of association and expression. Instead of criminalizing human rights defenders, the authorities must enable them to carry out their vital work free from any fear of reprisal, arrest or prosecution.”
Background
Mustapha Djemali and Abderrazek Krimi are respectively the founder and project manager of the Tunisian Council for Refugees (CTR), a Tunisian NGO which worked with the UNHCR and Tunisian authorities to pre-register asylum seekers and provide essential assistance to those in precarious situations. Police arrested them in Tunis on 3 and 4 May 2024.
On 24 November, the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced them to two years in prison, while suspending the remainder of their sentence after taking into account the 18 months in pre-trial detention already served. They were released last night. The court acquitted the three other CTR staff also on trial. A fourth employee had his appealed his indictment and is not being tried yet. Tunisian authorities have increasingly escalated their crackdown on human rights defenders and independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through arbitrary arrests, detention, asset freezes, bank restrictions and court-ordered suspensions.
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