TUNIS: Six aid workers from a group that helps migrants and refugees went on trial in Tunisia Thursday accused of assisting irregular migration into the country, a key transit point for those seeking to reach Europe.
The accused work for the Tunisian Refugee Council (TRC), an aid organization that partnered with the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, to screen asylum applications in Tunisia.
Migration is a sensitive issue in Tunisia, which saw a series of racially motivated attacks after President Kais Saied warned in 2023 that “hordes of illegal migrants,” many from sub-Saharan Africa, posed a demographic threat to the Arab-majority country.
Tunisian and international rights groups condemned the trial, saying it criminalized helping refugees and migrants.
The defendants include TRC head Mustapha Djemali, an 81-year-old Tunisian-Swiss national, and project manager Abderrazek Krimi, both of whom have been detained for more than a year and a half pending trial.
Four other employees were charged in the case but have not been held in custody.
They are all charged with “sheltering” migrants and “facilitating illegal entry” into Tunisia, according to a lawyer.
The defense team requested the trial be postponed and that a testimony from the UNHCR be heard, lawyer Mounira Ayari told AFP.
She said the defense also requested a provisional release for Djemali and Krimi, as their pre-trial detention had already exceeded the 14-month legal limit.
But the court later rejected that request and adjourned the trial until November 24, the lawyer added.
She said Djemali “suffers from serious health issues.”
His daughter, Yusra, said he could barely stand, adding: “It’s hard to see him like this.”
The family said initial fraud and money-laundering charges against Djemali had been dropped.
The defendants were arrested in May 2024 along with about a dozen humanitarian workers, including members of French group Terre d’Asile and anti-racist organization Mnemty, who are awaiting trial.
Djemali and Krimi “were arrested solely for their legitimate humanitarian work,” said Antonia Mulvey, who heads the Geneva-based Legal Action Worldwide.
She called the trial “arbitrary” and a “violation of Tunisia’s international obligations.”