TUNIS: The Tunisian Association of Democratic Women rights group said authorities had suspended its activities, in a move denounced by fellow activists.
Founded in 1989, the ATFD has been at the forefront of the struggle for democracy in Tunisia and against the dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown in 2011 by a popular uprising.
The head of the ATFD, Raja Dahmani, told AFP on Friday that she received a “decision from the authorities ordering the suspension of its activities for one month” because it had violated regulations governing associations.
Vowing to take legal action, Dahmani said the association “fully complies with legal procedures.”
Fellow rights group the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) expressed its solidarity with the association on Saturday.
“This decision is part of an ongoing series of measures aimed at criminalizing independent civic action and further restricting civic space in Tunisia, affecting dozens of independent associations,” it said.
Feminist campaigner and law professor Sana Ben Achour also condemned the decision on Facebook.
Since President Kais Saied seized power in a coup in 2021, Tunisian and foreign NGOs have denounced a regression in rights and freedoms in the country.
Local media reported this week that prosecutors had launched an investigation into foreign funding received by various civil society organizations, including the FTDES, I Watch, Al-Bawsala and the media outlet Inkyfada.
The Business News website said that 47 associations had been dissolved as a result of the investigation and authorities had frozen the assets of 36 others.
Tunisia suspends ATFD women’s rights group
https://arab.news/88pcb
Tunisia suspends ATFD women’s rights group
- ATFD has been at the forefront of the struggle for democracy in Tunisia
- Vowing to take legal action, Dahmani said the association “fully complies with legal procedures“
Iraq executes a former senior officer under Saddam for the 1980 killing of a Shiite cleric
- Al-Sadr was a leading critic of Saddam’s secular Baathist government whose dissent intensified after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran
- The cleric’s execution in 1980 became a symbol of oppression under Saddam
BAGHDAD: Iraq announced on Monday that a high-level security officer during the rule of Saddam Hussein has been hanged for his involvement in the 1980 killing of a prominent Shiite cleric.
The National Security Service said that Saadoun Sabri Al-Qaisi, who held the rank of major general under Saddam and was arrested last year, was convicted of “grave crimes against humanity,” including the killing of prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr, members of the Al-Hakim family, and other civilians.
The agency did not say when Al-Qaisi was executed.
Al-Sadr was a leading critic of Iraq’s secular Baathist government and Saddam, his opposition intensifying following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which heightened Saddam’s fears of a Shiite-led uprising in Iraq.
In 1980, as the government moved against Shiite activists, Al-Sadr and his sister Bint Al-Huda — a religious scholar and activist who spoke out against government oppression — were arrested. Reports indicate they were tortured before being executed by hanging on April 8, 1980.
The execution sparked widespread outrage at the time and remains a symbol of repression under Saddam’s rule. Saddam was from Iraq’s Sunni minority.
Since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, authorities have pursued former officials accused of crimes against humanity and abuses against political and religious opponents. Iraq has faced criticism from human rights groups over its application of the death penalty.
