Tunisia: Harassment, Arbitrary Detention of LGBT Rights Activist

 | 
03/10/2021

A Tunisian court sentenced a prominent LGBT rights activist on March 4, 2021, to six months in prison and a fine for shouting outside a police station after officers refused to register her harassment complaint, Human Rights Watch said today. The activist, Rania Amdouni, 26, is in a women’s prison in Manouba, west of Tunis, where her lawyer said she has faced harassment by prison guards due to her gender expression. Police arrested Amdouni on February 27 at 8 p.m. after she left the 7 eme police station in downtown Tunis in a distraught state, said her lawyer Hamadi Hanchiri. At the station, Hanchiri said, police officers had refused to register Amdouni’s complaint relating to repeated harassment she said police officers subjected her to on the street and online. Police officers in the station then proceeded to harass her based on her presumed sexual orientation and gender expression. Amdouni began shouting on the street outside the station and cursing the Tunisian police system, Hanchiri reported. “The police response to Amdouni’s complaint keeps her from getting protection and undermines public confidence in law enforcement and the Tunisian justice system,” said Rasha Younes, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Regions: ,

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 12/08/2023
12/07/2023
The first openly two-spirit Miss Eeyou Eenou Iskwaau (MEEI) in northern Quebec says they didn’t feel welcome to attend a regional pageant to crown …
Added on: 12/08/2023
12/07/2023
BUCHAREST — When a mayor of a small Romanian town casually mentioned in an interview that she had voted in favor of a referendum that sought …
Added on: 12/08/2023
12/07/2023
Last week, Russia’s highest court deemed what it called the “international LGBT movement” to be an extremist organisation and banned its activities in the …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Other News from ,

Added on: 12/07/2023
KAMPALA, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Uganda’s government on Wednesday denounced the United States’ expansion of visa restrictions against its officials, accusing Washington of pushing …
Added on: 12/07/2023
When a clip of two men dancing at a party in Ethiopia was posted to TikTok, it unleashed a torrent of homophobic hatred and …
Added on: 12/06/2023
In a historic development, South Africa’s Parliament has passed the amended version of the Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. It will now go …