Tunisia

Rights group says Abdallah Said’s case is a troubling first for the country amid president’s increasing crackdownTunisian anti-terrorist investigators are handling the case of a leading advocate for migrants who has been taken into custody, in what the head of a rights group said was a troubling first for the country.Abdallah Said, a Tunisian of Chadian […]

As a nurse I helped to build a small clinic in a Tunisian refugee camp where we treat machete wounds and disease day and night. But we cannot treat malnutrition without foodI am 26 and from Sierra Leone, where I used to work in hospitals as a state-registered nurse. My friends heard that the British NHS needed doctors and nurses so they applied for jobs, […]

French PhD student Victor Dupont has been detained in Tunisia on breach of state security charges for at least 12 days, it was announced this week. His university has denounced the arrest as an attack on fundamental liberties. 

Inquiry preceded controversial migration deal linked to claims of abuse in increasingly authoritarian countryThe European Commission is refusing to publish the findings of a human rights inquiry into Tunisia it conducted shortly before announcing a controversial migration deal with the increasingly authoritarian north African country.An investigation by the […]

‘Moral threshold coming down,’ warns Mo Ibrahim, as his index of governance reveals widespread decline in 10 yearsThe global rise of populism and “strongmen” has led to an increase in authoritarianism in Africa that is holding back progress in governance, the businessman and philanthropist Mo Ibrahim has said.According to the latest edition of the […]

Parched crops on one side and lush green plants on the other, a small farming project in northwest Tunisia demonstrates how foreign funding coupled with dogged local efforts can help tackle the impact of climate change.

Concerns are growing that funds from the migration deal are connected to abuses by the repressive regime in TunisThe EU will be unable to claw back any of the €150m (£125m) paid to Tunisia despite the money being increasingly linked to human rights violations, including allegations that sums went to security forces who raped migrant women.The European […]

Kais Saied secured 90.7% of the vote in election on a turnout of just 27.7%, after detaining rival Ayachi ZammelTunisia’s president, Kais Saied, has secured a second five-year term with a landslide victory, although the election had one of the lowest turnouts in the north African country’s history.The Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) […]

Supporters of incumbent Tunisian President Kais Saied celebrated in the capital on Sunday night after an exit poll broadcast on state television showed him winning the election by a landslide, ahead of his two rivals, one of whom is now in prison.

Leader of north African country expected to win second term after jailing opponents and changing constitutionPolls have closed in Tunisia’s presidential election as the president, Kais Saied, seeks a second term, while his most prominent critics are in prison and after his main rival was jailed suddenly last month.Observers see the election, which Saied […]

Tunisians are headed to the polls on Sunday for presidential elections widely expected to be dominated by incumbent leader Kais Saied, who's seeking a new term amid a struggling economy and political tensions.

Critics of incumbent Kais Saied say he has increasingly bent the country’s institutions to his willTunisia will hold a presidential election on Sunday against the backdrop of a crackdown on dissent and human rights violations committed against undocumented migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.The incumbent, Kais Saied, whose most […]

About a third of the nearly 10 million Tunisians set to vote in a presidential election this weekend are under 35, according to official figures. Yet the poll appears to have created a mood of resignation among young people, most of whom would rather leave the country, according to a recent study.

Nearly 10 million Tunisians are gearing up to vote on Sunday in presidential elections dominated by incumbent leader Kais Saied, whose rule has been marked by accusations of authoritarianism.

Tunisia's parliament has approved a law stripping its top court of its authority to rule on electoral disputes, nine days before the presidential election. Opposition groups fear the move is aimed at ensuring President Kais Saied remains in power.

Hundreds of Tunisians protested on Sunday against President Kais Saied, accusing him of deepening authoritarian rule and stifling political competition two weeks before a presidential election. 

Stemming migration does not have to involve pacts with repressive regimes. Keir Starmer should look to human rights and creating ‘a community of inclusion’The testimonies are not just of human tragedy but of total disregard for human life. Moussa, a migrant from Guinea, explains: “There was a pregnant woman and they beat her until blood started coming […]

EU Commission says it will be sending independent observers to the country to investigate allegations of human rights violationsThe European Commission can no longer ignore mounting evidence of the gross human rights violations against migrants and refugees in Tunisia, say MEPs and activists.The EU has given millions of pounds to Tunisia to reduce migration […]

Keir Starmer says he wants to learn from Italy’s ‘dramatic’ statistics. But a Guardian investigation reveals that EU money goes to officers who are involved in shocking abuse, leaving people to die in the desert and colluding with smugglersWhen she saw them, lined up at the road checkpoint, Marie sensed the situation might turn ugly. Four officers, […]

In Tunisia, the presidential election campaign kicked off on Saturday, ahead of the vote scheduled for  6 October. Only three candidates are in the running for the presidency. Meanwhile, some activists have begun protesting, raising concerns about a "climate of fear".