An 81-year-old Swiss-Tunisian former UN official was given a lighter sentence than expected in Tunisia’s first trial over aiding illegal migration and has been freed after 20 months in detention. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Mustapha Djemali, founder of the Tunisian Refugee Council (Conseil Tunisien pour les Réfugiés, CTR), and Abderrazek Krimi, the group’s project manager were accused along with three other defendants of setting up an organisation to “help migrants enter the Tunisia illegally” and provide them with shelter. Djemali and Krimi were given two-year jail terms, but having already spent about 20 months behind bars, they “will be released this evening”, their lawyer Mounira Ayadi told AFP on Monday evening. The three other CTR staff members were acquitted, Ayadi added. The defence said the CTR was working in an exclusive partnership and under a legal agreement with the UN refugee agency UNHCR in Tunisia to provide emergency housing for ...
