The trial of the president of the Tunisian Refugee Council marks the beginning of a series of hearings targeting representatives of humanitarian organizations.

The president of the Tunisian Council for Refugees (CTR), an organization specializing in helping asylum seekers and refugees,   Mustapha Djemali will be tried from Thursday, October 16, by the Tunis Court of First Instance for having helped migrants.

This hearing marks the beginning of a series of trials targeting representatives of humanitarian organizations helping illegal immigrants in a country whose president, Kais Saied, pursues an openly xenophobic policy.

A former executive of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Mustapha Djemali, 81, is on trial alongside one of his organization's project managers, Abderrazak Krimi.

The two men are being prosecuted for "participating in an agreement or forming an organization" to facilitate the "clandestine entry" of people into Tunisian territory and for harboring them, under the law relating to passports and travel documents.

According to Amnesty International, the investigating judge accused the defendants of "illegally bringing black people into Tunisia . " "You feed and house them, Tunisian history and laws will make you pay ," he allegedly said, according to the NGO's investigation.

The defendants' defense committee, however, points out that "all persons benefiting from assistance from the CTR are registered by the UNHCR in Tunis, benefiting from recognition