Tunisia’s Tribunal of First Instance of Medenine sentenced five individuals Thursday involved in the tragic 2022 Zarzis shipwreck case which killed 18 people from the southern coastal town to prison sentences between four and 10 years, the general prosecutor told local Radio channel Mosaïque FM. The five individuals are accused of having formed an association to help people leave the country illegally.
The 2022 fatal shipwreck provoked widespread protests in the town organized by the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) urging authorities to mobilize efforts to find the missing bodies, as local fishermen took upon themselves the task of retrieving them Local merchants and workers initiated a strike calling on the foundation of a local union to oversee investigations into the shipwreck and search procedures. Authorities have allegedly buried four retrieved bodies without their identification, fuelling the anger of the victims’ families. Consequently, President Kais Saied ordered the Ministry of Justice to conduct an investigation to provide the truth and punish those responsible.
Tunisia has been going through a socio-economic crisis for several years which pushes hundreds of people to risk their lives by attempting to reach the Italian shores every year. The country has also become a departure point for other Africans, mainly from the sub-Saharan region, aiming to seek refuge in Europe. The North African country’s policy in dealing with Black African migrants was severely condemned and the Tunisian government was accused of orchestrating a campaign of repression against migrants to ensure a steady stream of financial and logistical support from Europe.
The European Commission signed a memorandum of understanding with Tunisia in 2023 which committed the EU to providing financial support to Tunisia to deter Europe-bound migration. However, the agreement came under severe scrutiny from international organizations such as Amnesty International, who stated that the deal makes the EU “complicit in the suffering that will inevitably result” in what represents a “dangerous expansion” of failed migration policies.
