The trial of Tunisian anti-racism activist Saadia Mosbah opened on Monday, drawing renewed attention to Tunisia’s increasingly restrictive climate for dissent.
Mosbah, who has been detained for more than 18 months, is charged with money laundering and illicit enrichment — allegations her supporters dismiss as politically motivated.
Arrested in May 2024, Mosbah was heading Mnemty, a legally registered organisation campaigning against racial discrimination in Tunisia.
Mnemty says the investigation followed an online smear campaign accusing human rights activists of conspiring against Tunisia’s demographic identity.
Now 65, Mosbah has long advocated for the rights of sub-Saharan migrants, particularly after President Kais Saied’s 2023 speech warning against “hordes” of migrants.
She also played a key role in securing Tunisia’s landmark 2018 law criminalising racial discrimination, a rare legislative win for civil society groups.
Her lawyer, Monia El Abed, told the court Mosbah suffers from chronic health conditions and poses no threat to society.
The defence requested her release on bail, arguing there were sufficient guarantees she would attend future hearings.
Another lawyer, Chawki Tabib, said Mosbah had exceeded Tunisia’s 14-month legal limit for pretrial detention, calling the case a clear miscarriage of justice.
Prosecutors are pursuing charges against nine defendants, including Mosbah’s son, several Mnemty members and the owner of the NGO’s premises.
Emotions ran high in court when Mosbah’s son briefly embraced her, collapsing into her arms and breaking the courtroom’s silence.
Rights groups say the case exemplifies a broader crackdown on dissent since President Saied’s 2021 power grab eroded democratic safeguards.