The Tunisian government is attempting to disband one of the country's few, and arguably its most prominent, LGBTQ rights groups, according to the group's leader.
Mounir Baatour, president of Association Shams, said the government filed this week an appeal seeking to overturn a 2016 court decision that permitted the association to continue operating in the North African country.
"It's very said news," Baatour told NBC News on Friday. However, he added "Shams will not die."
He explained that Association Shams received initial approval to operate from the government in May 2015, and that approval was subsequently upheld by a 2016 court case that challenged the group's legality according to Tunisia's Law on Associations, which governs the creation of non-governmental organizations in the country.
Baatour, who indicated this move to disband his organization came as a surprise, said Association Shams has "saved hundreds of young gay lives." He noted, however, that as of 2018, there were still 147 people in prison in Tunisia for homosexuality-related charges. Read more via NBC
Tunisia: Effort to Shut Down LGBT Group
The Tunisian government should halt its attempt to fight a court ruling that gave an LGBTassociation the right to operate, Human Rights Watch said today. The Tunis-based Shams association has vocally advocated the repeal of Tunisia’s anti-sodomy law and has defended many victims prosecuted on the basis of their sexual orientation.
“If organizations that defend human rights and sexual minorities are shut down, Tunisia’s image as an island of freedom and democracy in the region will take a big hit,” said Amna Guellali, Tunisia director at Human Rights Watch.
Shams registered with the government in May 2015, as a nongovernmental organization working to support sexual and gender minorities. On January 4, 2016, a first instance court in Tunis, responding to a complaint filed by the government’s secretary general that Shams was violating the Law on Associations, ordered Shams to suspend its activities for 30 days. On February 23, 2016, the court ruled that Shams was not in breach of the law and lifted the suspension.
On February 20, 2019, the Tunisian government’s head of state litigation appealed, and a hearing is scheduled for March 1.