Activist in Tunisia arrested as conditions for migrants and their advocates worsen

An anti-discrimination activist in Tunisia was arrested in a money laundering investigation this week as the dangerous and dire conditions facing migrants and their advocates worsen.

Saadia Mosbah, who is Black, was taken into custody and her home was searched as part of an investigation into the funding for the Mnemty association she runs.

She was arrested after she posted on social media condemning the racism she faced for her work from people accusing her of helping sub-Saharan African migrants, said Bassem Trifi, the president of the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights.

Her arrest was the latest reflection of the problems facing migrants in Tunisia as authorities bolster efforts to police the shoreline where many embark on boats hoping to reach Europe.

In a national security council meeting focused on irregular migration, Tunisian President Kais Saied said Tuesday that associations that receive substantial foreign funds were “traitors and agents” and shouldn’t supplant the state’s role in managing migration and fighting human trafficking.

Fewer migrants have made the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea this year due to weather and beefed-up border security. But human rights groups caution that efforts to curb crossings haven’t protected the tens of thousands of migrants stuck in Tunisia.

More than 80 migrants were arrested in Tunis last week after clashes with law enforcement as they cleared encampments in the capital that were “disturbing the peace,” according to Tunisia’s Radio Mosaique.

Hundreds of migrants had camped near the headquarters of the UN refugee agency and International Organization for Migration, often demanding the agencies repatriate them outside of Tunisia. Law enforcement used heavy machinery to raze their tents and then bused them outside of the city to “an unknown destination,” said Romdhane Ben Amor, a spokesman for the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.

“Tunisia is deepening the crisis and promoting the idea that there is no solution,” Ben Amor told Radio Mosaique.

An estimated 244 migrants — most of them from outside Tunisia — have died or disappeared along the country’s Mediterranean coastline this year, including 24 whose bodies were found last week, the NGO said.

In a report based on government data released Monday, it noted that the number of migrants without papers boating across the Mediterranean had decreased as Tunisian authorities report an increasing number of interceptions. Such is the case for both migrants from Tunisia and migrants passing through the country en route to Europe.

In April, authorities directly thwarted 209 migration attempts and in total prevented more than 8,200 migrants from reaching Italy, the majority from sub-Saharan African countries. Tunisian Coast Guard have prevented more than 21,000 migrants from reaching Italy this year.

Managing migration to prevent scenes of chaos and despair along Italian shorelines has been a top priority for European leaders, including Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who has visited Tunis four times this year.

North African and European officials have sought to curb human trafficking and better police borders and coastlines to prevent deaths at sea. However, thousands of migrants fleeing conflict, poverty, persecution or hoping for a better life have continued to make the journey. They take boats from the coast north of Sfax, Tunisia’s second-largest city, to Italian islands such as Lampedusa, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) away.

The European Union hopes to limit migration with policies including development assistance, voluntary return and repatriation for migrants and forging closer ties with neighboring governments that police their borders. They have pledged billions of dollars over the past year to countries including Tunisia, Mauritania and Egypt to provide general government aid, migrant services and border patrols.

Though European leaders have hailed a $1.1 billion agreement with Tunisia as a template, Saied has pledged not to allow the country to become a “border guard” for Europe.

Less than one-third as many migrants have reached Italy in 2024 as had at this point last year, according to May 8 figures from Italy’s Interior Ministry. The UN refugee agency reported that more than 24,000 migrants traveled from Tunisia to Italy in the first four months of 2023 while less than 8,000 had successfully made the journey over the same time period this year.