Free Saadia Mosbah! 66-year-old humanitarian arbitrarily detained in Tunisia

The work of Saadia and her arrest

Saadia Mosbah is a Tunisian humanitarian and a prominent advocate, widely recognized for her outspoken commitment to racial justice and equality,  anti discrimination, migrants’ rights, and the rights of Black communities in Tunisia. In 2013, she founded and now co-leads the Mnemty Association, which works to combat racial injustices, supports victims of discrimination and racial violence, and promotes inclusive and dignifying public discourse. She remains deeply engaged in the fight against racial injustices and in defending the rights of people on the move in Tunisia and beyond.

Following a hate-filled and racist campaign led by Tunisian President Kais Saied in February 2023, featuring rhetoric about “protecting the demographic composition of Tunisians from an African invasion” calls for expatriation, and allegations of a ‘conspiracy behind the presence of African migrants in Tunisia’ a discourse that position Tunisia outside its geographical and historical context, which caused a widespread crackdown. Racist groups that had previously formed became more active and expanded their activities and numbers. Mnemty played an important role, alongside other civil society organizations, in combating discriminatory narratives as well as the violence inflicted on black migrants. The association played its role in standing in solidarity with displaced and vulnerable people and called for the application of Law no 50 that criminalises discrimination.  On May 7, 2024, Tunisian authorities invaded Saadia’s home and arrested her   as part of a judicial investigation targeting the Mnemty Association as a structure and its members, focusing in particular on its funding related to activities supporting people on the move and combating racial discrimination.

On the same day, law enforcement officers searched the association’s headquarters as well as Ms. Mosbah’s home in Tunis. Saadia was placed in pre-trial detention at the Manouba women’s prison. Several members of the association were also summoned, investigated, subject travel bans and later prosecuted on unfounded financial criminal charges in the days and weeks that followed, though they were not detained.

In the months following her arrest, the Public Prosecutor at the Court of First Instance of Tunis repeatedly extended her pretrial detention. On December 22, 2025, her trial began before the Criminal Chamber of the same court, with other members of the Mnemty Association.

In March 2025, a court-appointed financial expert; who spent over a year investigating and collecting documents and evidence from the Mnemty association members,; concluded the process with a report that the association’s funding is  lawful, transparent, and limited in scale and budget, directly contradicting the money laundering allegations against Ms. Mosbah and the other members.Based on these findings, her detention has been widely condemned as arbitrary.

On 19 March 2026, the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced Saadia Mosbah to eight years in prison and a fine of over TND 120,000 - about EUR 36,000. She was prosecuted alongside eight other staff members and associates of Mnemty on unfounded financial criminal charges related to their human rights work. The other members were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to three years, fines between TND 15,000 and TND 65,000, and complementary sanctions including a five-year suspension of their right to vote. 

Detention conditions

Throughout her pre-trial detention, Saadia Mosbah reported inadequate prison conditions. After spending almost two years in Mannouba’S  women jail, she was transferred to the prison of Belli in the Nabeul governorate, another city far from her family’s place making it visiting her by her family members and lawyers more challenging, In September and October 2025 she reported limited access to clean drinking water, restrictions on receiving books, and limitations on family visits.

Saadia suffers from hypertension, gout, and other health and mobility issues. She reports that a prison guard subjected her to repeated racist insults and mockery, blocked one of her medical appointments, and physically assaulted her in February 2026.

International mobilisation

Several international and regional human rights organizations have strongly condemned the arbitrary detention and conviction of Saadia Mosbah, including Amnesty International, Frontline Defenders, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and, the World Organisation against tortures.

Other actors, such as Human Rights Watch, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights and CIVICUS, have also raised serious concerns, denouncing her prosecution as part of a broader crackdown on migrants, civil society and human rights defenders in Tunisia.

Our Demands


We call for:

• The immediate and unconditional release of Saadia Mosbah.
• Full respect for her fundamental rights, including access to adequate and timely healthcare.
• Accountability for her arbitrary detention and for any acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment she has endured, alongside a fair, independent, and impartial review of the judicial proceedings against her and the 8 members of Mnemty.
• The application of law no 50 that criminalises all forms of discrimination and violence.
• Respect for international human rights law and for international and regional conventions protecting the rights of people on the move in Tunisia, including migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, as well as the obligation to ensure non-discrimination, dignity, access to protection, and safeguards against arbitrary detention, collective expulsion, and other human rights violations, in line with Tunisia’s international commitments. 

All States must respect and ensure respect for applicable international human rights law, and guarantee the protection of human rights defenders in all circumstances. States have  obligations to uphold and protect the rights of those who work to advance justice, equality, and human dignity.

Saadia Mosbah is a dedicated humanitarian and human rights defender who has devoted her life to supporting marginalized communities and combating racial discrimination in Tunisia. Humanitarians must be protected—always and everywhere.