By Tarek Amara
TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisia has ordered the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), a prominent civil rights and migrant advocacy organization, to suspend activities for a month, the group said on Monday, one of several associations under such orders.
FTDES official Ramadhan Ben Omar told Reuters that the government said the suspension was to allow for a financial audit related to foreign funding the group receives. “It’s real aim is to silence every independent voice within civil society”, he said.
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Democratic Women group — dedicated to women’s rights, freedoms and democracy — was similarly suspended last week.
Sources told Reuters that several other organizations were also suspended because they received foreign funding, but the decisions have not yet been publicly announced.
FTDES was one of the first organizations to denounce President Kais Saied’s claim in 2023 that an influx of African migrants was part of a “criminal plot” to change the country’s Arab and Muslim identity. FTDES said his stance was racist.
At least 12 prominent civil society activists are currently in prison on various charges linked to their work.
Leading organizations complain of growing restrictions, including the freezing of their bank accounts over allegations of receiving foreign funding, since Saied seized almost all power in 2021 and started ruling by decree.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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