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.
