Trial Opens For Members Of Tunisian Branch Of NGO France Terre D'Asile In Tunis

Demonstrators hold placards featuring the portrait of the detained civil society activist and former Executive Director of NGO 'Terre d'Asile Tunisie', Sherifa Riahi, with a text in Arabic ''release Sherifa Riahi'' during a demonstration organized outside the Court of First Instance in Tunis, Tunisia, on December 15, 2025. The rally brings together supporters, feminist activists, women's rights organizations, and civil society groups to show solidarity with the defendants, members of the NGO 'Terre d'Asile Tunisie', the Tunisian branch of the French NGO 'France Terre d'Asile', as they appear before the court for their first hearing. The advocate for migrant aid and refugee rights faces charges over allegations of forming an alliance to shelter irregular migrants and facilitating their stay. International human rights groups, including Amnesty International, condemn the charges as ''bogus'' and part of a trend criminalizing humanitarian aid in Tunisia. They demand the immediate release of Sherifa Riahi and the other defendants and for the charges to be dropped, citing the ''politically motivated nature of the case''. (Photo by Chedly Ben Ibrahim/NurPhoto via Getty Images)