A Tunisian trial that opened on December 15 against members of the Tunisian branch of the French NGO Terre d'Asile, accused of providing illegal assistance to migrants, has been postponed until January.
The proceedings against members of the Tunisian branch of Terre d'Asile, will resume in January, said the group's lawyers on December 16.
The trial has been described by the human rights organization Amnesty International as a "criminalization of civil society."
Read AlsoRights groups condemn Tunisian government over migrant treatment
Detained staff face up to 10 years in prison
Six humanitarian workers from the NGO Terre d'Asile Tunisia, including Sherifa Riahi, former Director of the organization, and another official, Mohamed Joo, as well as employees of the municipality of Sousse, appeared at a preliminary hearing on charges of "facilitating the illegal entry and stay" of migrants in Tunisia.
Riahi and Joo have been detained for more than 19 months, along with two other Terre d'Asile employees and two of the 17 defendants working for the city of Sousse, according to Riahi's lawyer, Seifallah Ben Meftah.
Another lawyer, Hayet Jazzar, said the court rejected requests for provisional release for the six jailed defendants and scheduled the next hearing for January 5.
The defendants are also charged with "conspiracy to provide shelter or conceal persons who entered the country illegally" and face prison sentences of up to 10 years.
Read AlsoTunisia cracks down on migrant departures
Amnesty call for 'ending this injustice and dropping the charges'
Amnesty International has urged the Tunisian authorities to "put an end to this injustice" and to "drop the charges against humanitarian workers" in what it described as a "sham trial."
Outside the courthouse, relatives of the defendants unfurled a large banner reading: "Solidarity is not a crime."
"All of Ms.Riahi's actions were carried out" as part of a project approved by the Tunisian state and in "direct coordination" with the government, Meftah told the French news agency Agence France Presse (AFP), stressing that "the protection and assistance of migrants" are provided for under international conventions ratified by Tunisia.
The detained defendants were arrested in May 2024, along with around a dozen other humanitarian workers, including anti-racism activist Saadia Mosbah, whose trial is expected to begin at the end of December.
Tunisia is a key transit point for thousands of sub-Saharan African migrants who attempt to reach Europe each year by sea.
Read Also'Strange Fish': Global migration film festival highlights anonymous rescuers of Tunisia