Saadia Mosbah

Summary

Saadia Mosbah, president of the "Mnemty" association and a human rights activist, has been detained since 07 May 2024 because of her civil and humanitarian activity. She appeared before the courts on several charges, including forming an association for the purpose of money laundering, illicit enrichment and failing to keep legal accounts. She was sentenced at first instance to 08 years in prison, in addition to a fine of 100,000 dinars.

Personal Information

Name: Saadia Mosbah.

Status: President of the Mnemty association.

Nationality: Tunisian.

Charges

Forming an association for the purpose of money laundering within the meaning of the law on combating terrorism and preventing money laundering. Illicit enrichment within the meaning of Article 37 of the 2018 law on combating illicit enrichment.

Failing to keep legal accounts within the meaning of Article 97 of the Code of Tax Rights and Procedures.

Sentence

Five years in prison for money laundering.

Three years for illicit enrichment.

A fine of 100,000 dinars for failing to keep legal accounts.

Incidents of Violation

The case of Saadia Mosbah dates back to early May 2024, when the human rights activist and the "Mnemty" association were targeted by a systematic incitement campaign on social media platforms, marked by hate speech and racist exploitation, which linked the association's activity to allegations concerning the settlement of migrants and suspicious funding. This campaign erupted in a tense political climate that saw a marked rise in accusations against civil society organisations and an intensification of rhetoric hostile to human rights and humanitarian work.

On 06 May 2024, a judicial inquiry was opened into the association's activities, covering its president and a number of its staff, as well as members of its board. The very next day, security forces raided the association's premises and its president's home, and the victim of the violation, Saadia Mosbah, was placed in custody. These measures were carried out by the Central Brigade for Combating Complex Financial Crimes of the National Guard in El Aouina, and she was held for five days pending investigation.

On 10 May 2024, the Public Prosecution at the Financial Judicial Pole authorised the extension of her custody by a further five days. During this stage, she appeared before the Financial Judicial Pole, which, however, declared that it lacked jurisdiction over the case, and the file was subsequently referred to the Tunis 1 Court of First Instance.

On 16 May 2024, Saadia Mosbah was questioned on charges relating to illicit enrichment, forming an association for the purpose of money laundering, and failing to keep legal accounts, and the investigating judge subsequently issued a committal warrant against her without interrogating her.

On 26 June 2024, a chartered accountant was appointed as an expert to examine the association's financial records and continue the examination of the case.

On 07 November 2024, the victim of the violation was taken from prison to the Tunis 1 Court of First Instance, but she did not appear before the judge, spending her time in the holding room before being returned to prison. She was informed that her detention had been extended by a further four months, having by then spent six full months in detention.

On 13 March 2025, the accounting expert submitted his report to the investigating judge, and on the same day it was decided to extend her detention by a further four months. The report concluded that the funding received by the association was of known origin and limited in size, and found no indicators of money laundering or funding of an unlawful nature, confirming that the association's financial activity was consistent with the applicable legal frameworks. However, according to the defence team, the report contained new accusations against Saadia Mosbah, thereby exceeding the limits of its mandate and the impartiality expected of it.

On 04 July 2025, the investigating judge issued a decision closing the investigation, dismissing the charges of money laundering and forming an association against her, so that the prosecution was limited to the suspicions of illicit enrichment and failing to keep accounts. However, the Public Prosecution appealed this decision, and the Indictment Chamber subsequently issued a decision on 15 July 2025 returning the file to its starting point and reinstating the same charges.

The first trial hearing was set for 22 December 2025 before Criminal Chamber No. 44 at the Tunis Court of First Instance, and was postponed to 26 February 2026 because the Court of Cassation had not ruled on the appeal lodged by the defence team, while the request for release was rejected. That hearing was in turn postponed to 12 March 2026.

On 19 March 2026, the first-instance judgment was pronounced, convicting the victim of the violation and sentencing her to five (05) years in prison on the charge of money laundering and three (03) years on the charge of illicit enrichment, bringing the total sentence to eight (08) years in prison, in addition to a fine of 100,000 dinars for failing to keep legal accounts.

Human Rights Violations

The case of Saadia Mosbah reveals a systematic pattern of serious human rights violations, clearly manifested in the prolonged detention that lasted from 07 May 2024 until the judgment was issued on 19 March 2026. This course of events constitutes a clear violation of the right to personal liberty and protection from arbitrary detention, rights enshrined in Article 43 of the 2022 Constitution, as well as in Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

These judicial proceedings were accompanied by official rhetoric criminalising any intervention in the case, without a clear distinction between legitimate human rights activity and accusations of a political or security nature. The case was also accompanied by a wide media incitement campaign that helped to tarnish the image of the victim of the violation and to justify her detention, in the absence of serious evidence proving the charges against her, as reinforced by the accounting expert's report, which stated that the file contained no indicators of money laundering or illicit funding. In addition, the law on combating terrorism and preventing money laundering was used during the detention stage, undermining her civil rights.

While Article 33 of the 2022 Constitution provides that the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial in which all guarantees of defence are ensured, the conduct of this case reveals a clear breach of this principle. The continuation of prolonged detention despite the possibility of keeping her at liberty, and the handing down of a harsh sentence in a case lacking conclusive evidence, constitute a violation of the principle of proportionality that must govern criminal proceedings, and entail the legal and moral responsibility of the state to respect its obligations to protect fundamental rights.

The targeting of Saadia Mosbah also came after an organised incitement campaign and systematic hate speech, followed by the opening of a judicial investigation that focused on the nature and objectives of the association's activity rather than on documented personal criminal acts. This constitutes a direct attack on freedom of association and an effective criminalisation of civil and humanitarian activity, in clear contradiction with Article 40 of the 2022 Constitution, as well as with Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which enshrines the right to freedom of association.

This case cannot be read in isolation from its intersectional dimension, as its implications go beyond the person concerned to reveal a broader logic targeting women, especially Black women defenders, in civic space and positions of leadership. The incitement campaign took on a compound character, combining questioning of the association's integrity with the reproduction of stereotypes about women activists as overstepping their bounds or being involved in suspicious networks.

This case is part of a broader context of prosecutions targeting women active in the human rights and political spheres in Tunisia, reflecting a selective pattern in which the gender dimension intersects with the human rights dimension. The impact of targeting women in positions of associational leadership is not limited to them alone; it sends a doubly deterrent message to all women considering engaging in public space or taking up decision-making positions.