Tunisian government tries to block LBGT organisations once again.
Shams registered with the government in May 2015, as a nongovernmental organization working to support sexual and gender minorities. On January 4, 2016, the court in Tunis, responding to a complaint filed by the government’s secretary general that Shams was violating the Law, 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. Three years later in 2019, the Tunisian government appealed, and a hearing is scheduled for March 1.
The government appeal claims that Shams objective is in contrast with “Tunisian society’s Islamic values, which reject homosexuality and prohibit such alien behavior.” It further argues that Tunisian law, which criminalizes homosexual acts, does not allow activities of an association that defends homosexual acts. If the court upholds the petition from the government, it suspends the association for 30 days, after which the court can destroy the organization if it decides it’s against the law. “Tunisia, since the revolution, has been one of the very few Arab countries where LGBT organizations have been able to operate openly,” Guellali said. “It should be welcoming, not handicapping a diverse society.”
