Inquisition and Morality Courts in Tunisia

The appeal hearing for gender non-normative content creator Khoubeib and a number of other content creators has been postponed today, January 22, 2025. It should be noted that Khoubeib was sentenced to a harsh prison term of four and a half years, pursuant to Articles 226, 226 bis, and 234 of the Penal Code and 86 of the Telecommunications Code.

These rulings follow a statement issued by the Ministry of Justice on October 27, 2024, ordering the necessary legal measures to address practices in the digital space, which it deemed immoral and contrary to societal values and public morals.

Sentences such as “indecent”, “violating good morals”, and “public indecency” are vague expressions without any definitions in judicial jurisprudence or legal encyclopaedia. They are only an introduction to the possibility of imposing penalties and, in particular, legitimizing the violations and repressive practices that the Tunisian state continues to commit through campaigns of arrests and judicial prosecutions targeting members of the LGBTQ community in particular, exposing them to all forms of violence, abuse, discrimination, and incitement against them based on their gender identity and sexual orientation, as well as detention pending trial and its consequences, and the tragic situation in prisons.

We, the Transgender Coalition, condemn the human rights violations committed by the authorities and their efforts to eliminate freedom of opinion and expression in the digital space.

We also condemn the arrest campaigns targeting the Ain community and the LGBTQ community, putting them in danger, amid the state's silence in the face of the waves of violence against them. We demand the protection of LGBTQ individuals targeted by this campaign and other systematic campaigns. We also demand the abolition of such laws, which have vague standards that limit freedoms and become a tool exploited by the authorities for oppression and abuse.