Abir Moussi was born on 15 March 1975, in
Jemmal to a father working in the national security service (from
Beja) and a mother who was a teacher (from
Bab Souika).
Professional career Holder of a master's degree in law and a
DEA in economic and business law, she became a lawyer at the Bar of the Court of Cassation, the highest court in Tunisia. Moussi joined the
Destourian Movement, founded by former Prime Minister
Hamed Karoui. On 13 August 2016, Moussi was appointed President of the Destourian Movement, renamed the Free Destourian Party. the latter brings together sympathisers of the former Democratic Constitutional Rally which dominated the country before the revolution. She therefore does not recognize the
2014 Constitution Moussi has declared herself opposed to the decriminalization of homosexuality. On 16 August 2018, the NGO Association of Help, Homosexual Defense for the Equality of Sexual Orientations (ADHEOS) called for Moussi to be banned from the
Schengen Area following homophobic and hate speech, in which she called for the systematic imprisonment of homosexuals, whom she associated with criminals. The NGO also called on the authorities to take measures to protect the rights of homosexuals in the Schengen area. In March 2019, Moussi declared in an interview with the
Pan-African Jeune Afrique magazine "I will not legislate on people's privacy. I will ban anal testing, except for rape and felony". Although she is in favor of equality between men and women in matters of inheritance, Moussi is opposed to the current government's plan to implement it, arguing that by extending rights to children born out of wedlock, it represents an attack on the institution of the family. The proposal of the
Individual Freedoms and Equality Committee (COLIBE) to introduce this equality while leaving the legatees the choice of using the old system based on the
Quran also attracts criticism from the candidate, who sees it as "the door open to customary marriages and discrimination between women themselves".
Persecution On 3 October 2023, Moussi was detained after being arrested at the entrance to the
Carthage Palace. On 22 November 2024 she was sentenced on appeal to one year and four months. On 12 June 2025, she was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for criticising the legislative electoral process. In December 2025, she was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment on charges of assault intended to cause chaos.
Reactions Domestic The day after her arrest, several Tunisian
civil society organizations and
political parties condemned the detention of Abir Moussi. The
Tunisian Human Rights League criticized the arrest and called for her immediate release, noting what it described as multiple legal violations. The
Tunisian Association of Democratic Women stated in a communiqué that the arrest would further worsen the political situation and contribute to the deterioration of public life, also demanding her prompt release. The
Tunisian Order of Lawyers commissioned three of the country’s most prominent
attorneys to represent her during the
trial. In November 2025, the Tunis section of the Order called on lawyers to mobilize and attend her hearing in order to show support and help safeguard her rights. In January 2024, the country’s main labour organization, the
Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), announced that it would withdraw a previous
complaint it had filed against Moussi. The UGTT stated that it did not want the complaint to be used against her in a way that could further complicate her situation. On 15 October 2025, the
Free Destourian Party organized a demonstration in
Tunis in which thousands of supporters protested the arrest of Abir Moussi and called for her release. Additional protests followed, including a demonstration on 3 December 2023 in front of the representative of the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in
Tunisia,
human chain was organized on 7 December 2023 around
Manouba Prison, where Moussi was being held. Another demonstration was organized in January 2024 in the capital. Several of the party’s planned protests have reportedly been banned.
International Her detention has been widely described as politically motivated. In February 2025, the
United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion declaring Abir Moussi’s detention arbitrary and unlawful, noting that it met four out of the five categories of
arbitrary deprivation of liberty. The Working Group found that her detention lacked any legal basis, resulted from the exercise of her fundamental rights, gravely violated her right to a
fair trial, and was
discriminatory on account of her political or other opinions contrary to the principles of
equality before the law and non-discrimination. In the same opinion, the Working Group called for her immediate release.
Amnesty International issued two public letters concerning her case, the first in February 2024 and the second in October 2025. In its 2024 letter, the organization called on the Tunisian authorities to release her, drop the charges, and end what it described as judicial harassment. Amnesty International characterized her detention as arbitrary and stated that she had been imprisoned for the legitimate exercise of her rights to
freedom of expression and
peaceful assembly. In its 2025 letter, the organization reiterated its call for her release, noting that she had been detained for more than two years and was facing charges carrying the
death penalty. == Electoral history ==