Press release
Geneva – February 7, 2024
The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has monitored the confirmation of the sentence issued by the Court of Appeal in the Tunisian province of Monastir in its session on January 31 against the young man and human rights activist and defender of the rights of sub-Saharan migrants, Rachad Tamboura.
The Court of First Instance sentenced Tamboura to two years in prison for drawing graffiti criticizing Tunisian President Kais Saied’s statements about sub-Saharan African migrants.
Tamboura’s sentence was based on article 67 of the Tunisian Penal Code, issued in 1913, which was intended to protect the bey and the ruling family at the time, charging him with “committing a brutal act against the head of state, publishing and spreading news and attributing false matters with the aim of defamation.”
CFJ is following with concern the trials and prosecutions of human rights defenders in Tunisia aimed at narrowing the general space for freedoms – and freedom of expression in particular – that the country won after the Jasmine Revolution at the hands of Tunisian President Kais Ben Said.
The committee also rejected the political rulings and called for a halt to the sentence against Tunisian human rights activist Rachad Tamboura, calling for a review of the arsenal of legislative provisions that limit freedom of expression in Tunisia.
