LGBTQ+ arrests surge in Tunisia as rights groups protest

Human rights groups have condemned Tunisia’s mass arrests of LGBTQ+ people, highlighting degrading treatment at the hands of police, as reported by Middle East Eye on July 17th.

Officers arrested at least 14 individuals recently, nine in Tunis and five on the island of Djerba, according to the Tunisian Association for Justice and Equality (Damj). This is another example of Tunisia under fire from human rights groups criticising the implementation of state policies.

Authorities targeted many through invasive phone and body searches, with some subjected to humiliating anal examinations. Damj reports that courts have already sentenced six of those arrested to prison terms between one and two years.

Saif Ayadi, programme officer at Damj, criticised the state’s “practices… against gender identities and sexual orientations”. He said: “We are forced to stay at home, in our private spaces, without displaying our identities.” Hate speech now circulates widely on social media, with TV and radio personalities calling for the banning of LGBTQ+ organisations and the arrest of activists.

Between September 2024 and late January 2025, police arrested more than 80 people under Tunisia’s anti-homosexuality laws. Prosecutors charged detainees under Article 230, which criminalises same-sex relations with up to three years in prison, alongside vague penal code offences relating to “public indecency” and “public morals”.

Last autumn, courts convicted at least 10 influencers and content creators, some living abroad, to prison terms of up to four-and-a-half years. Authorities accused them of “producing, distributing or publishing” material that undermines “moral values”. Police also prosecuted Khoubaib, a queer content creator, for defying gender norms by wearing make-up.

Since President Kais Saied’s 2021 appointment, morality laws have been applied more aggressively, targeting LGBTQ+ people, couples kissing, those eating during Ramadan, and critics of religion.

Middle East Eye, Maghrebi.org, Amnesty International