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TimesLIVE
18 hours ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Once a beacon of hope, Tunisia's civil society struggles to survive
In May 2024 Tunisian activist Cherifa Riahi was arrested two months after giving birth, accused of harbouring illegal migrants. More than a year later she is still in prison without charge. Rights groups see Riahi's case as a symbol of accelerating repression of civil society under President Kais Saied, who dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. The crackdown marks a turnaround for Tunisia, where civil society groups flourished in the wake of the 2011 uprising that unseated President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, inspired other Arab Spring uprisings and helped shape a democratic transition. As head of a refugee support group, Riahi had been helping sub-Saharan asylum seekers and other migrants find housing and access medicine and food. Her family say she did nothing wrong. The forced separation from her daughter and young son has been traumatic. 'The girl doesn't recognise her mother,' Riahi's mother Farida, who is now caring for her grandchild, told Reuters at their family home in La Marsa near the capital, Tunis. 'They took her while she was breastfeeding. We didn't even have time to understand what was happening.' Since Saied's power grab, at least a dozen civil society figures such as Riahi have been detained on allegations activists denounce as fabricated, according to rights groups and lawyers. At least 10 civil society groups have had their assets frozen and offices raided, they say. The Tunisian General Labour Union, which won the 2015 Nobel peace prize with other civil society groups and could once bring tens of thousands onto the streets, has been sapped by the arrests of junior officials on corruption charges. The Tunisian government's media office did not respond to calls and written questions seeking comment about Riahi's case and those of other activists and civil society groups. Saied, 67, has accused civil society groups of 'serving foreign agendas' and undermining national unity. He has said he will not be a dictator and freedom and democracy will be preserved, but he will not allow chaos or interference through foreign funding or organisations that represent a 'tool of treason'. Activists warn some of Tunisia's last surviving democratic gains are at risk as the judiciary, media and parliament have all come under tighter executive control and most opposition party leaders are in prison. 'The attack on civil society organisations is not an isolated incident,' said Romdhane Ben Amor of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, an independent advocacy group. 'It comes in the context of the authorities' plan to close civic space and to end the democratic openness achieved by Tunisians after January 14 2011.' In Tunis, the offices of I Watch, an anti-corruption watchdog founded after the 2011 revolution, used to bustle with dozens of employees, volunteers and journalists. These days only three employees work on-site. Dozens work remotely, some fearing raids or arrests. Wajdi Belloumi, I Watch's president, said its bank transfers have been hindered and official investigations into the group are piling up. Hotels have stopped renting spaces for the group's events, citing vague instructions from authorities, Belloumi said. Last year the electoral commission refused for the first time to allow I Watch to monitor elections due to suspicions of foreign funding. 'We're seen as enemies now,' Belloumi told Reuters. 'Many volunteers are afraid. Whistle-blowers have gone quiet. The pressure is everywhere — legal, financial, even personal.' Ben Amor said he had received anonymous threats and started looking over his shoulder in public spaces. 'People start saying, 'This man must be got rid of',' he said, referring to comments sent in private messages, or "'your son studies at that school, your daughter studies at that school, I saw you on that street''. Foreign governments that once championed Tunisia's democratic transition now prioritise curbing migration and short-term stability, rights groups say. Ben Amor said he believed he had been targeted particularly after speaking out against Saied's recent anti-migrant rhetoric. In 2023, the same year Tunisia signed a pact with the EU aimed at stemming migration across the Mediterranean, Saied said illegal immigration was part of a 'conspiracy' to alter Tunisia's demographics. Since then, authorities have dismantled tents and carried out forced deportations — the campaign amid which Riahi was detained. Though the space for civil society groups is shrinking by the day, Belloumi said he remains committed. 'We chose this path — transparency, justice, accountability — and we're not walking away.'
The Print
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
Why bringing back Nimisha Priya, Kerala nurse on death row in Yemen, is a diplomatic rigmarole
Last week, Priya's execution was postponed after efforts of the government of India at the diplomatic level. The efforts are aimed at allowing the families to reach a 'mutually agreeable solution'. Priya allegedly sedated Talal Abdo Mahdi in an attempt to retrieve her passport to leave the country in 2017. However, Mahdi overdosed and died, according to reports. Priya has been in prison in Yemen's capital Sana'a since 2017, convicted of killing her business partner. Sana'a is governed by the separatist organisation—Ansar Allah—also known as the Houthis. India does not recognise nor maintain ties with the Iran-backed movement that has controlled Sana'a since 2014. Rather it recognises the government operating in the port city of Aden to the South, which is recognised internationally as the regime in-charge of Yemen. New Delhi: The complexities of Yemen—a fractured nation, in the midst of a civil war for over a decade, with rival regional powers jockeying for influence, combined with a lack of diplomatic representation from New Delhi—are all playing a role in the fate of Nimisha Priya, the Kerala-born nurse on death row in the West Asian nation. Born in Kerala's Palakkad district, Nimisha moved to Yemen in 2008 for work. Three years later, she married Tomy Thomas and the two moved back to Yemen and continued working in the West Asian nation. However, by early 2012, Yemen witnessed a major political change due to the impact of the Arab Spring, with its long-time leader Ali Abdullah Saleh lost his grip on power, after 22 years in control of Sana'a. Within two years, the Houthis, from the North of the country, swept across Yemen, capturing Sana'a and dislodging Saleh's successor Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi from the city. It was around this time that Priya decided to open her own clinic in the West Asian nation. For a foreigner to operate a business in Yemen, the law requires a local partner. Mahdi entered the situation, even though Priya eventually opened the clinic with her former boss Abdul Lateef, according to media reports. But Mahdi managed to become a shareholder, and allegedly created documents to show that Priya was his wife, and even took away her passport. Facing torture at the hands of Mahdi, Priya eventually decided to sedate him, retrieve her documents and leave the country, according to reports. However, Mahdi died and Priya was arrested attempting to flee the country. In 2020, Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death, which was upheld in 2023 by the Supreme Judicial Council. In April 2024, Premakumari, Nimisha Priya's mother finally travelled to Yemen and met her daughter in prison in Sana'a. There were negotiations over the payment of blood money between Mahdi's family and Priya's family. However, by September 2024 the negotiations were said to have hit a roadblock. Prominent businesspersons from Kerala including M.A. Yussuff Ali of the LuLu Group and Bobby Chemmanur have offered up to Rs 1 crore each for any potential settlement leading to the release of Priya. The efforts are being coordinated by the 'Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council'. Last week, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, confirmed that New Delhi has been in touch with the 'local authorities'—the Houthis—in Sana'a as it continues to diplomatically seek her release. The only other option for Priya's release is the payment of 'diyah' or blood money to the family of the murdered Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi. Also read: Setback for efforts to save Nimisha Priya from execution in Yemen as victim's family refuses pardon The situation in Yemen Since September 2014, Yemen has been fractured by a civil war fought primarily between the internationally recognised government, currently led by Rashad al-Alimi, and the Houthis. The Houthis are known currently for their efforts to disrupt trade through the Red Sea, in response to Israel's military actions in the Gaza strip. The civil war in Yemen has regional implications, with Saudi Arabia leading a coalition to dislodge the Houthis from power. Iran, however, supports the Houthis, a Shi'ite revivalist movement, with a history of rising up against the Sunnis in power in the country. Yemen became the latest flash point for the proxy struggle between Riyadh and Tehran for control over West Asia. In April 2015, after evacuating its citizens from Yemen, New Delhi shut down its mission in the West Asian nation, with all issues with regards to the country handled through its embassy in Riyadh. Furthermore, India has no official ties with Ansar Allah, which has been in control of Sana'a, where Nimisha Priya has been imprisoned since 2018. In January 2025, Iran offered its assistance to India for the release of Priya. Last week, however, a source in the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi pointed to the current situation in West Asia, which has led to Tehran's inability to be involved in the diplomatic process to see Priya's return. When Priya first moved to Yemen in 2008, the country had been under the control of Ali Abdullah Saleh for over 18 years. Saleh, born in 1946, in a town outside Sana'a, rose through the ranks in the military of North Yemen. The country, which was divided between Monarchists and Republicans, was led by a number of military juntas, till Saleh arrived in the political scene in 1978. For the next 12 years, the Yemeni strongman consolidated power and led the country's reunification with the Communist South Yemen in 1990, following the collapse of the USSR. Saleh remained in power for the next 22 years, until the effects of the Arab Spring led to his downfall in 2012. He was replaced by his long-standing vice-president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. In September 2014, the Ansar Allah occupied Sana'a, demanding lower fuel prices and the formation of a new government. The rebel movement swept South from its stronghold in the North and within months had captured Sana'a. Hadi and the Houthis engaged in fraught negotiations to find a political agreement. However, this failed in January 2015, Hadi resigned and fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia. In February of that year, Hadi rescinded his resignation and a month later Saudi Arabia along with a coalition of Gulf states began their war in Yemen to dislodge the Houthis through both economic isolation and air strikes along with logistical support from the US. The Houthis during the initial stages received support from Saleh, as well as military aid from Tehran. The movement soon controlled territory consisting roughly 70 percent of the population, according to some estimates. The proxy war continued for years, with the frontlines largely stabilising following the Saudi-led intervention, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Eventually the Hadi government stabilised its control over Aden, while the Houthis held Sana'a and large swathes of North and North-Western Yemen. Eventually in 2022 a ceasefire was agreed to by both parties, which has been maintained since. Hadi resigned in 2022 after a decade in power, leading to a Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) consisting of eight members and led by al-Alimi. The PLC is the internationally recognised regime, and operates out of Aden. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Day before her execution, a ray of hope for Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen
Edmonton Journal
21 hours ago
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
How an Edmonton AI company alerts NATO, U.S. government to chaos hotspots
Imagine if you had the ability to quickly map all world chaos and then tell clients what hot spots to avoid or attend to. Article content An Edmonton company has used AI to do just that — and NATO, the U.K. Ministry of Defence and the U.S. government (and another 100 or so organizations) — are listening, says samdesk CEO and founder James Neufeld. Article content Article content 'One of the challenges that we saw universally across the private and public sector is they always felt they were one step behind. They found out maybe hours or days later,' Neufeld said at media conference last month with emergency management and community resilience minister Eleanor Olszewski. Article content Article content 'And from an emergency management standpoint, every second or every minute that goes by, it really erodes your ability to effectively respond. The wildfire grows, the crisis grows.' Article content Article content Billions of daily social media posts document real-time experiences. That wealth of intelligence can be powerful for emergency response — eyes and ears on the ground to know where to deploy resources. Article content Natural disaster? Vandalism? Wildfire? Volatile unrest in the streets? Article content Tipping in satellite imagery and other data sources from government, AI pattern-recognition technology correlates it all, spotting the chaos nuclei. Earlier signal, earlier mitigation. Article content Pointing to a large screen dashboard in action, Neufeld fascinated onlookers with a global view, quickly zooming in on northern Alberta. Article content Samdesk's mission is to warn clients: 'Hey, you have a piece of infrastructure that might be under this emergency,' or 'Power outage in Saskatchewan,' or 'Firm up your supply chains,' or even 'Evacuate!' Article content Article content Origins in news Article content Article content The development of the company was newsroom-inspired, from a decade of journalists watching social media for eyewitness information outside of government sources, Neufeld said. Article content 'It wasn't a single source anymore. It was becoming democratized,' he said, citing the coverage of the 2011 Arab Spring revolt and regional wildfires, where people on the ground documented the latest developments. Article content 'What we learned really was, while a lot of newsrooms called it breaking news, the rest of us probably called it something else. It was a crisis. It wasn't a story. It was a real, live situation. It was something that needed to be responded to, something that needed being managed,' he said.
The Star
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Once a beacon of hope, Tunisia's civil society struggles to survive
TUNIS (Reuters) -In May 2024, Tunisian activist Cherifa Riahi was arrested just two months after giving birth, accused of harbouring illegal migrants. Over a year later, she is still in prison without charge. Rights groups see Riahi's case as a symbol of accelerating repression of civil society under President Kais Saied, who dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. The crackdown marks a significant turnaround for Tunisia, where civil society groups flourished in the wake of the 2011 uprising that unseated President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, inspired other Arab Spring uprisings, and helped shape a democratic transition. As head of a refugee support group, Riahi had been helping sub-Saharan asylum seekers and other migrants find housing and access medicine and food. Her family says she did nothing wrong. The forced separation from her daughter and young son has been traumatic. "The girl doesn't recognise her mother at all," Riahi's mother Farida, who is now caring for her grandchild, told Reuters at their family home in La Marsa near the capital, Tunis. "They took her while she was breastfeeding. We didn't even have time to understand what was happening." Since Saied's power grab, at least a dozen civil society figures like Riahi have been detained on allegations activists denounce as fabricated, according to rights groups and lawyers. At least 10 civil society groups have had their assets frozen and offices raided, they say. The Tunisian General Labour Union, which won the 2015 Nobel peace prize with other civil society groups and could once bring tens of thousands onto the streets, has been sapped by the arrests of junior officials on corruption charges. The Tunisian government's media office did not respond to calls and written questions seeking comment about Riahi's case and those of other activists and civil society groups. Saied, 67, has accused civil society groups of "serving foreign agendas" and undermining national unity. He has said he will not be a dictator and that freedom and democracy will be preserved, but that he will not allow chaos or interference through foreign funding or organisations that represent a "tool of treason." Activists warn that some of Tunisia's last surviving democratic gains are at risk as the judiciary, media and parliament have all come under tighter executive control and most opposition party leaders are in prison. "The attack on civil society organisations is not an isolated incident," said Romdhane Ben Amor of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, an independent advocacy group. "It comes within the context of the authorities' plan to close civic space and to end the democratic openness achieved by Tunisians after January 14, 2011." 'SEEN AS ENEMIES' In Tunis, the offices of I Watch, an anti-corruption watchdog founded after the 2011 revolution, used to bustle with dozens of employees, volunteers and journalists. These days, only three employees work on-site. Dozens work remotely, some fearing raids or arrests. Wajdi Belloumi, I Watch's president, said its bank transfers have been hindered and official investigations into the group are piling up. Hotels have stopped renting spaces for the group's events, citing vague instructions from authorities, Belloumi said. Last year, the electoral commission refused for the first time to allow I Watch to monitor elections due to suspicions of foreign funding. "We're seen as enemies now," Belloumi told Reuters. "Many volunteers are afraid. Whistle-blowers have gone quiet. The pressure is everywhere — legal, financial, even personal." Ben Amor said he had received anonymous threats and started looking over his shoulder in public spaces. "People start saying, 'This man must be gotten rid of'," he said, referring to comments sent in private messages, or "'your son studies at that school, your daughter studies at that school ... I saw you on that street'". Foreign governments that once championed Tunisia's democratic transition now prioritise curbing migration and short-term stability, rights groups say. Ben Amor said he believed he had been targeted particularly after speaking out against Saied's recent anti-migrant rhetoric. In 2023, the same year Tunisia signed a pact with the European Union aimed at stemming migration across the Mediterranean, Saied said illegal immigration was part of a "conspiracy" to alter Tunisia's demographics. Since then, authorities have dismantled tents and carried out forced deportations -- the campaign amid which Riahi was detained. Though the space for civil society groups is shrinking by the day, Belloumi said he remains committed. "We chose this path -- transparency, justice, accountability," he said. "And we're not walking away." (Reporting by Tarek Amara, Editing by Alexandre Dziadosz and Aidan Lewis)
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Once a beacon of hope, Tunisia's civil society struggles to survive
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Tunisian activist Cherifa Riahi's mother Farida holds a picture of her daughter, Cherifa, at her house in Tunis, Tunisia May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer TUNIS - In May 2024, Tunisian activist Cherifa Riahi was arrested just two months after giving birth, accused of harbouring illegal migrants. Over a year later, she is still in prison without charge. Rights groups see Riahi's case as a symbol of accelerating repression of civil society under President Kais Saied, who dissolved parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree. The crackdown marks a significant turnaround for Tunisia, where civil society groups flourished in the wake of the 2011 uprising that unseated President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, inspired other Arab Spring uprisings, and helped shape a democratic transition. As head of a refugee support group, Riahi had been helping sub-Saharan asylum seekers and other migrants find housing and access medicine and food. Her family says she did nothing wrong. The forced separation from her daughter and young son has been traumatic. "The girl doesn't recognise her mother at all," Riahi's mother Farida, who is now caring for her grandchild, told Reuters at their family home in La Marsa near the capital, Tunis. "They took her while she was breastfeeding. We didn't even have time to understand what was happening." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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At least 10 civil society groups have had their assets frozen and offices raided, they say. The Tunisian General Labour Union, which won the 2015 Nobel peace prize with other civil society groups and could once bring tens of thousands onto the streets, has been sapped by the arrests of junior officials on corruption charges. The Tunisian government's media office did not respond to calls and written questions seeking comment about Riahi's case and those of other activists and civil society groups. Saied, 67, has accused civil society groups of "serving foreign agendas" and undermining national unity. He has said he will not be a dictator and that freedom and democracy will be preserved, but that he will not allow chaos or interference through foreign funding or organisations that represent a "tool of treason." Activists warn that some of Tunisia's last surviving democratic gains are at risk as the judiciary, media and parliament have all come under tighter executive control and most opposition party leaders are in prison. "The attack on civil society organisations is not an isolated incident," said Romdhane Ben Amor of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, an independent advocacy group. "It comes within the context of the authorities' plan to close civic space and to end the democratic openness achieved by Tunisians after January 14, 2011." 'SEEN AS ENEMIES' In Tunis, the offices of I Watch, an anti-corruption watchdog founded after the 2011 revolution, used to bustle with dozens of employees, volunteers and journalists. These days, only three employees work on-site. Dozens work remotely, some fearing raids or arrests. Wajdi Belloumi, I Watch's president, said its bank transfers have been hindered and official investigations into the group are piling up. Hotels have stopped renting spaces for the group's events, citing vague instructions from authorities, Belloumi said. Last year, the electoral commission refused for the first time to allow I Watch to monitor elections due to suspicions of foreign funding. "We're seen as enemies now," Belloumi told Reuters. "Many volunteers are afraid. Whistle-blowers have gone quiet. The pressure is everywhere — legal, financial, even personal." Ben Amor said he had received anonymous threats and started looking over his shoulder in public spaces. "People start saying, 'This man must be gotten rid of'," he said, referring to comments sent in private messages, or "'your son studies at that school, your daughter studies at that school ... I saw you on that street'". Foreign governments that once championed Tunisia's democratic transition now prioritise curbing migration and short-term stability, rights groups say. Ben Amor said he believed he had been targeted particularly after speaking out against Saied's recent anti-migrant rhetoric. In 2023, the same year Tunisia signed a pact with the European Union aimed at stemming migration across the Mediterranean, Saied said illegal immigration was part of a "conspiracy" to alter Tunisia's demographics. Since then, authorities have dismantled tents and carried out forced deportations -- the campaign amid which Riahi was detained. Though the space for civil society groups is shrinking by the day, Belloumi said he remains committed. "We chose this path -- transparency, justice, accountability," he said. "And we're not walking away." REUTERS
