Prominent Tunisian human rights activist Sihem Bensedrine has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, a ruling she says is politically motivated and aimed at dismantling the legacy of Tunisia’s post-revolution transitional justice process.
Bensedrine, 75, was convicted on charges that include allegedly falsifying the final report of the now-defunct Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD), which she chaired. She has denied all allegations and announced plans to appeal the verdict.
“Of course, this is a decision that has nothing to do with justice,” Bensedrine said. “It has to do with a totalitarian regime that wants to erase the legacy of the IVD.”
She spent more than six months in pre-trial detention after being arrested in August 2024.
The Truth and Dignity Commission was established following Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, which overthrew longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after the Arab Spring uprising. The commission investigated decades of alleged human rights abuses committed under Ben Ali and Tunisia’s first president, Habib Bourguiba, collecting testimony from thousands of victims.
Its final report, published in 2020, called for reforms aimed at dismantling corruption, repression and authoritarian practices within state institutions.
Bensedrine said she was being targeted by officials seeking to “settle scores” and discredit the commission’s work.
The sentence has drawn sharp criticism from international rights organisations. Human Rights Watch described the ruling as evidence of Tunisia’s deteriorating human rights situation under President Kais Saied.
The group noted that Bensedrine had previously faced harassment, imprisonment and exile because of her activism, adding that the new sentence could keep her in prison until she is 100 years old.
The International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organisation Against Torture also condemned the conviction, describing the charges as groundless.
In a joint statement, the organisations said the case sends a message that efforts to uncover the truth about Tunisia’s authoritarian past are no longer tolerated and reflects growing concerns over democratic backsliding in the country under President Saied.
