Tunisian authorities arrest dozens amid crackdown on LGBTQ+ community
Tunisian authorities have arrested dozens of people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity in the last few months, Amnesty International said on Thursday.
Between 26 September 2024 and 31 January 2025, the authorities ramped up their crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community, with 84 people - mostly gay men and trans women - arrested in the cities of Tunis, Hammamet, Sousse and El Kef, according to the Tunisian NGO Damj Association for Justice and Equality.
Many of them are now facing arbitrary detention and unfair prosecution.
Damj emphasised that the numbers are 'not exhaustive,' as they are based on direct assistance the organisation provides to LGBTQ+ community members, and are likely to be several times higher.
'We estimate the real number to be at least three times higher, because when we used to have access to official numbers of prosecutions a few years ago, we found that on average our documentation only covers at most a third of the people affected,' queer activist and head of programmes at Damj Saif Ayadi told Amnesty.
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Arrestees were detained and prosecuted under Article 230, which criminalises same-sex relations and carries a sentence of up to three years imprisonment, as well as articles in the penal code that criminalise 'public indecency' or acts deemed to be offensive to 'public morals'.
Deputy regional director for MENA at Amnesty International, Diana Eltahawy, said that the vaguely worded laws 'allow law enforcement to carry out sweeping arrests of individuals simply for failing to adhere to gender norms or having a non-conforming gender appearance or expression'.
Furthermore, Amnesty noted that gay men and transgender people in Tunisia are often targeted on the basis of gender stereotypes, behaviour or physical appearance, with prosecutions based on footage and photos unlawfully seized from the detainees' devices during arrest.
It added that men accused of engaging in same-sex relations are forced to undergo anal examinations to obtain 'proof', a practice that Amnesty said is tantamount to torture.
'Preserving morality'
The wave of arrests followed a homophobic and transphobic online campaign which was unleashed on 13 September.
Hate speech targeting LGBTQ+ people spread across hundreds of social media pages, with popular TV and radio hosts calling for the banning of LGBTQ+ organisations and arrests of activists.
Tunisia: 'Moral values', the new pretext to repress freedoms Read More »
The arrests form part of a broader crackdown targeting activists, journalists and public figures in the name of preserving morality and social values.
Last autumn, at least 10 influencers and content creators, including some residing abroad, were convicted and sentenced to prison terms of up to four-and-a-half years following a statement from the Ministry of Justice announcing prosecutions against anyone 'producing, distributing or publishing images or videos with content that undermines moral values'.
The defendents included Instagrammer Lady Samara, known for her outspokenness, frequent outbursts and angry insults at advertising companies, who was arrested for swearing.
Choumoukh, a 24-year-old Tiktok star with 200,000 followers, was jailed because of her openness in discussing sexuality during live shows.
Khoubaib, a queer content creator who is non-gender conforming was prosecuted for defying gender norms and wearing make-up.
Upon their appeal on 5 February, four were released following sentence reductions, but Khoubaib, whose jail term was reduced from four years and six months to two years, remains incarcerated.
The feminist group Ena Zeda say this is evidence of the crackdown targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
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