I write to you to express my grave concern over the unjust conviction of prominent anti-racism activist Saadia

Mosbah. She has been arbitrarily detained since May 2024 and remains imprisoned solely because of her

legitimate human rights work against racism and discrimination.

The prosecution and imprisonment of Saadia Mosbah for activities linked to her legitimate human rights work

contravene Article 12 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and, as Tunisia is a

state party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, Articles 6, 9, 10 and 11 of the Charter,

which guarantee the right to defend human rights and to exercise freedom of expression, association and

assembly without fear of reprisals. On 23 June 2026, the Tunis Court of Appeals upheld the unjust

convictions handed by the Tunis Court of First Instance on 19 March 2026. The court confirmed the eight

year prison sentence against Saadia Mosbah along with a fine of over TND 120,000 [about EUR 36,000].

The court suspended the sentences for four of her colleagues after reducing them to one and two years but

confirmed a three-year prison sentence against a fifth defendant in her absence.

Saadia Mosbah was initially prosecuted alongside eight other staff members and associates of Mnemty on

unsubstantiated charges of money laundering and “illicit enrichment” related to their human rights work.

The investigation did not uncover any illegal sources of funding and relied on an abusive interpretation of the

crime of “illicit enrichment” which lacks clarity. International human rights law and standards provide that

to protect the presumption of innocence the burden of proof rests on the authorities to prove a criminal

charge beyond reasonable doubt. Saadia Mosbah, 66, is detained at Belli prison (50km southeast of Tunis).

She suffers from high blood pressure, gout and other health and mobility issues. She reported that a prison

guard repeatedly subjected her to racist insults and mockery, obstructed one of her medical appointments

and physically assaulted her in February 2026. Despite notifying the prison administration of this abuse, the

authorities have yet to inform her of any plans to open an investigation into the allegations. According to her

family, authorities also failed to provide her with adequate medication and healthcare.

I urge you to ensure the immediate release of Saadia Mosbah and that the conviction and sentence against

her and her colleagues are quashed as they are solely related to the exercise of their human rights work.

Moreover, I call on you to ensure that an independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigation is

opened into the allegations of racist ill-treatment against Saadia Mosbah, which may amount to torture.

Yours sincerely,