Statement and Appeal for the Release of Tunisian Opposition Activist Shaimaa Issa, Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
December 3, 2025
The political activist and outspoken critic of the rule of Kais Saied, Shaimaa Issa, has been arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of “conspiring against state security.” This comes at a time when she, together with many lawyers, activists, and members of the National Salvation Front to which she belongs, has been calling for the defense of freedom of expression and protesting the systematic repression carried out by the authorities, as well as the policies of President Saied to monopolize power after dissolving parliament, dismissing the prime minister, and referring activists to military courts over the past four years.
While women around the world mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence from November 25 to December 10, by organizing activities and events aimed at ending violence against women, the Tunisian government continues to deploy violence, detentions, and prison sentences against women activists and political dissidents.
Tunisia, the country that sparked the Arab Spring and overthrew the dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a revolution against injustice, tyranny, and poverty, is today, more than a decade after its revolution, facing a fierce assault on freedoms and rights following the president’s consolidation of unchecked authority since July 2021.
Women’s organizations, including the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women and Aswat Nisaa, alongside other groups, have organized protests against these oppressive policies. It was during the most recent demonstration, held on November 29, that Shaimaa Issa was arrested.
We, a collective of women activists and organizations inside and outside Iraq, declare our support and solidarity with the activist Shaimaa Issa, as well as with the entire women, liberationist, and pro-freedom movement in Tunisia defending political rights and freedom of expression.
We call on the Tunisian government to immediately release all detainees who exercised their democratic right to express their opinions, and to annul all unjust convictions and prison sentences handed down to those accused in the so-called conspiracy case, immediately and unconditionally.
We demand political safety for women and the protection of their freedom to express themselves, whether through writing, peaceful demonstrations, or political participation, all of which constitute basic civil and political rights guaranteed under international human rights conventions.
The very spark that ignited the revolution more than a decade ago is capable of igniting once again in the face of even the harshest dictatorships.
We call for the widest possible solidarity from women’s organizations and human rights groups across the region and the world.
Signatories:
Aman Women Alliance
General Association for Women’s Development – Iraq
Women’s Legal School – Iraq
Elham Makki Hammadi – Researcher and Human & Women’s Rights Defender – Iraq
Bent Al-Rafidain Organization – Iraq
Al-Ula Center for Training and Development – Iraq
Al-Amal Association – Iraq
Israa Salman – Volunteer Member of the Iraqi Women’s Network – Iraq
Rula Zaiter – Feminist Activist
Lebanese Democratic Women’s Gathering – Lebanon
Sawsan Shouman – Human Rights Activist, Law Graduate – Lebanon
Luna Dawood Areikat – Lawyer and Human Rights Activist – Palestine
Assembly of Civil Women in Iraq
Al-Mada Foundation for Human Rights – Iraq
Iraqi Center for Labor Culture – Iraq
Najat Abd al-Samad – Physician and Novelist – Syria
Dr. Heba Haddadin – Human Rights Activist, Equality Association – Jordan
Association of Women Heads of Households – Mauritania
Ahlam Nasser – Feminist and Human Rights Activist
Noor Al-Shammari – Founder of Al-Wafaa for Victims of Terrorism – Iraq
Hanan Othman – Nowroz Association – Lebanon
Regional Democratic Women’s Alliance (NADA Coalition)
Maryam Mohamed Ali Al-Mahdawi – Head of Mother and Child Affairs, Public Liberties and Human Rights Council – Libya
Kurdish and Middle Eastern Women’s Organization – United Kingdom
The link to add signatures in Arabic.
