Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF) strongly condemns the Algerian authorities’ forced return of former Tunisian MP and lawyer Seifeddine Makhlouf to Tunisia on 18 January 2026, in a grave violation of the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention and firmly established in international law and custom.
Mr. Makhlouf had sought protection in Algeria in July 2024, fleeing political persecution and judicial harassment in Tunisia. He had officially registered his asylum claim with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). However, the Algerian authorities kept him in arbitrary administrative detention even after he completed a sentence related to “irregular entry,” denied him access to UNHCR, and subsequently deported and forcibly handed him over to Tunisian security forces without due process, without a risk assessment, and without the right to appeal. This constitutes a serious breach of Article 3 of the Convention against Torture.
This measure is particularly alarming given the deteriorating judicial environment in Tunisia. As the former head of the Al-Karama parliamentary bloc and a prominent critic of the exceptional measures imposed by the Tunisian authorities, Makhlouf faces a five-year prison sentence issued in absentia on charges of “conspiring against internal state security.” His case is part of a wide-ranging crackdown launched in February 2023 targeting political figures and activists with vague accusations such as “undermining state security” and “contacting foreign entities.”
On 28 November 2025, the Tunisian Court of Appeals issued sentences ranging from five to forty-five years against several opposition leaders, including Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, Nourredine Bhiri, Reda Belhaj, Issam Chebbi, and Ghazi Chaouachi. Against this backdrop, the forced return of Makhlouf raises serious concerns about politically motivated prosecutions lacking basic fair trial guarantees, and further demonstrates the use of the judiciary as a tool to silence dissent.
LDSF expresses its deep alarm at the dangerous shift in security cooperation between Tunisia and Algeria, which now appears to override international obligations and transform asylum and protection files into bargaining chips within narrow security arrangements. This incident is a clear example of the growing phenomenon of transnational repression, increasingly used to pursue opposition figures beyond their borders.
The Foundation holds the Tunisian authorities fully responsible for the physical and psychological safety of Mr. Makhlouf and stresses that his immediate imprisonment to enforce politically motivated sentences reinforces a disturbing pattern of eliminating opponents through judicial means. LDSF calls for his immediate and unconditional release.
LDSF further urges the Algerian authorities to immediately cease turning their territory into an unsafe space for asylum seekers, stressing that the forced return of Makhlouf represents a direct contribution to the repression of the Tunisian opposition and a serious undermining of the international refugee protection regime.
Law and Democracy Support Foundation calls on UNHCR and all relevant international mechanisms to urgently intervene to stop the transformation of North African security cooperation into a platform for cross-border persecution of political opponents, and to ensure that the international protection system is not dismantled under the pressure of transnational security deals.
