The children of prominent jailed Tunisian judges and politicians have accused the European Union of betraying its values by whitewashing the regime of President Kais Saied in the vain hope that he can stem the flow of migrants to Europe.
The EU is set to provide Tunisia with €1bn (£860m) in aid despite the obliteration of democracy in the country over the past two years.
The aid is partly contingent on the president accepting reforms linked to a $1.9bn (£1.5bn) International Monetary Fund (IMF) package, a move Saied has been attempting to defer.
The call for EU assistance for the Tunisian government has been led by two prime ministers intent on clamping down on migration into Europe: Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, and Giorgia Meloni, the rightwing Italian leader.
The aid package was offered when they visited Tunis on 11 June accompanied by the EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.
Critics say the use of European taxpayers’ money would mean Europe had both offered aid with no human rights conditions and strengthened Saied’s position in his battle to weaken the conditions the IMF will demand from him.
His refusal of the IMF loan has propelled the economy further into a downward spiral.
At a press conference in The Hague, Kaouther Ferjani, daughter of Said Ferjani, a prominent jailed figure in Tunisia’s largest political party, Ennahda, said after rounds of meetings in Europe and the UK that she “was saddened to see the values of democracy and human rights are nowhere to be seen when it comes to Tunisia. They would prefer to whitewash this man.
“There is no consistency. Double standards play into the hands of the conspiracy theorists that say Ukraine is not about human rights, but a hatred of Russia. It delegitimises other causes.
“This president will not use money to curb migration, but to lead the country into a state of deeper despair. He makes these deals with Europe, but then says he will not allow Tunisia to be an open-air prison or act as Europe’s border police.
“My biggest ask is that European taxpayers question where their money is actually being spent. He needs this money to spend on his security services and on paying salaries of civil servants.”
Aziz Akremi, son of Bechir Akremi, one of the most prominent judges in Tunisia, said Tunisian judges “are living in a state of complete fear and chaos, knowing that if they do not comply with the demands of the president, their office will be closed the next day.
“The concept of the separation of powers no longer exists, and the Tunisian judiciary has lost all independence. The whole economy is collapsing.”
Elyes Chaouachi, the son of an opposition leader, Ghazi Chaouachi, said his father had been arrested more than four months ago, and had still not been informed of any clear charges or court date.
Dr Yusra Ghannouchi, daughter of Rached Ghannouchi, the arrested speaker of the parliament, described the EU’s policy as “shortsighted, counterproductive and dangerous”, saying: “This president cannot solve Tunisia’s economic problems since he has created them. Despair feeds migration.
“His only solution is to find scapegoats, judges, foreign powers, the IMF and migrants. These loans and photo opportunities from Europe only legitimise him.”
At the media event in The Hague, the seat of the international criminal court (ICC), Rodney Dixon KC said the families were asking the ICC to start investigating the human rights abuses occurring across the country.
He said if no progress was made, the families would make a formal application to the ICC.
The EU is hoping the stabilisation funds will correct the economy and reduce the number of migrants escaping to Italy in search of work. Only on Friday, the International Organisation for Migration reported that 37 migrants were missing after a boat capsized between Tunisia and the island of Lampedusa.
Ferjani said she was having more success lobbying about Tunisian democratic backsliding in the US than in Europe.
Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho, and Bob Menendez, the Democrat chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, introduced a Safeguarding Tunisian Democracy Act last week, which will limit funding unless reforms are carried out.
Tunisia was widely perceived as the last bastion of the Arab spring. A functioning democracy existed in the country from 2011 until Saied suspended parliament in a 2021 power grab.
