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Tunisia: Doctors Oppose ‘Anal Test’ for Homosexuality

Medical Councils Around the World Should Follow Example

(Tunis) – The National Council of the Medical Order in Tunisia issued a statement on April 3, 2017, calling for doctors to cease conducting forced anal and genital examinations. The move is an important step toward ending degrading,…
Poster by Shams, a Tunisian activist group, condemning the use of forced anal exams.
News

Tunisia: Jailed for ‘Defamation’

Police Union Leader Criticized Officials

(Tunis) -- A police union leader jailed since July 13, 2016 has been sentenced to two years and eight months  in prison for defaming government officials.   A Tunis court sentenced Walid Zarrouk, a former prisons officer and…
A general view of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People in Tunis, Tunisia, May 2016.
News

Tunisia: Amend Draft Drug Law

End Prison Sentences for Users

(Tunis) – Tunisia’s parliament should amend the draft drug law currently before it to strengthen its human rights provisions, Human Rights Watch, Avocats sans Frontières, and the Tunisian League for Human Rights said today in a joint letter to parliament…
A general view of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People in Tunis, Tunisia, May 2016.
News

Tunisia Should Stop Jailing People for Drugs

Reform of Country’s Draconian Drug Law Suffers Setback

Every year, thousands of young people in Tunisia are thrown into jail for using or possessing drugs. Ministry of Justice figures show that 6,700 people were jailed for using drugs last year alone – that’s almost one-third of the country’s entire prison…
A Year in Prison for Smoking a Joint in Tunisia video
News

Tunisia: Journalists Before Military Tribunal

Prosecuted for Criticizing the Army

(Tunis) – Tunisia’s military prosecutor should immediately drop charges against two journalists who criticized the country’s armed forces, Human Rights Watch said today. The prosecutor charged Rached Khiari, chief editor of the newspaper and website…
Tunisian protesters stand outside a military court in Tunis as they demonstrate in support of blogger Yassine Ayari during his appeal hearing on March 3, 2015.
News

Tunisia Casts a Light on its Bloody Past

Launch of Truth Commission Hearings Give Floor to Victims

The legacy of the 2011 popular uprisings in the Middle East ranges from distressing to catastrophic.  The news from Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Libya is grim. Even in Tunisia, the country where it all started, a stubborn economic slump, terrorist…
Rebah Dachraoui of Kasserine addresses the first public hearing of Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission on November 17, 2016, about how police fatally shot her son Slah during protests in January 2011.
News

African Members Reaffirm Support at International Criminal Court Meeting

Countries Commit to Working Within the ICC System

A slew of African countries reaffirmed their backing for the International Criminal Court (ICC) during the past two days, giving much-needed support to the court in the wake of recently announced withdrawals by South Africa, Burundi, and Gambia.  …
News

Burundi: ICC Withdrawal Major Loss to Victims

Latest Move Shows Government’s Disregard for Victims

(Nairobi) – Burundi has taken a major step backward by officially withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch said today. Other African ICC members should distance themselves from Burundi’s withdrawal and affirm their support for…
Residents outside their houses in Nyakabiga, in the Burundian capital Bujumbura, look at the body of a man shot dead on December 11, 2015.
News

Tunisia: Abusive House Arrests

Scores Confined Without Charge Under State of Emergency

(Tunis) – Tunisia’s use of house arrest for at least 139 people under a November 2015 state of emergency decree has left many facing stigmatization and unable to pursue studies and work, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities have justified the…
TUnisisa house arrest warrant OCT 2016
News

Universal Periodic Review Submission on Tunisia

Third cycle of the UPR, 27th session

  Tunisians enjoy their civil and political rights to a greater extent than they did under President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, whom they ousted in 2011, or under his predecessor, Habib Bourguiba. During the ten months between Ben Ali’s departure…
Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the economic reconciliation bill at Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis
Video

Video: Ex-Detainee Describes Unreported CIA Torture

A Tunisian man formerly held in secret United States Central Intelligence Agency custody have described previously unreported methods of torture that shed new light on the earliest days of the CIA program. Lotfi al-Arabi El Gherissi, 52, recounted being…
News

Dispatches: Governments Defend ICC at African Union Summit

Pushback Against AU Call for Withdrawal

The 27th African Union (AU) summit closed Monday evening without an AU call for immediate mass withdrawal from the International Criminal Court in the face of strong pushback from Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, and even ICC non-member Algeria,…
A general view shows delegates during the 26th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, January 31, 2016.
News

Tunisia: Amnesty Bill Would Set Back Transition

Would Replace Better Model for Handling Corruption

(Tunis) – A proposed “economic reconciliation” law will provide amnesty for public officials and state employees for acts related to financial corruption and misuse of public funds. The law would sabotage the mechanism Tunisia already put in place to…
Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against the economic reconciliation bill at Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis
News

Ban Forced Anal Exams Around World

Abusive “Tests” for Homosexual Conduct Violate Rights

(Geneva) – Forced anal examinations on men and transgender women accused of consensual same-sex conduct have been reported in at least eight countries in the last five years, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. These examinations lack…
Poster by Shams, a Tunisian activist group, condemning the use of forced anal exams.
News

Dispatches: Illegal Travel Bans in Tunisia’s Airport

When she arrived at Tunisia’s airport on May 24, Rihab May was ready for her vacation. The 24-year-old’s bags were packed, she had a valid passport, a round-trip ticket, a hotel booking, and a notarized authorization to travel from her father. That’…
News

Tunisia: UN Panel Condemns Forced Anal Exams

Government Should Ban Abusive “Homosexuality” Tests

(Tunis) – The United Nations Committee Against Torture, in its most recent evaluation of Tunisia, condemned the use of forced anal examinations as an attempt to find “proof” against people accused of homosexual conduct, Human Rights Watch said today.…
Poster by Shams, a Tunisian activist group, condemning the use of forced anal exams.
News

No to Terrorism, Yes to Human Rights

Letter to Tunisians Tunisians, in shock and horror over the recent terrorist attacks, have demanded strong and determined measures to eliminate terrorism. They understandably identify terrorism as a threat to both the Tunisian people and the…
News

Tunisia: Uphold Rights While Fighting Terrorism

46 Groups, Celebrities Press for Rights-Respecting Approach

(Tunis, April 28, 2016) – Fighting terrorism and respecting human rights are two sides of the same coin, 46 national and international human rights organizations said today in an open letter addressed to all Tunisians and titled “No to Terrorism,…
Tunisian students hold flags and placards during a march in memory of 12 presidential guards who were killed in an attack in Tunis.
Video

Tunisia: No To Terrorism, Yes To Human Rights

Alongside 45 Tunisian and international organizations, including Nobel Peace Prize winning ones, Human Rights Watch has launched a campaign titled “No To Terrorism, Yes To Human Rights”. After several terrorist attacks hit Tunisia in 2015 and 2016, these…