Context
Eleven years after the revolution, the security situation in Tunisia remains fragile. This is partly due to the threat posed by people who have joined radical Islamist movements and are returning from conflict zones. In response to several terrorist attacks, Tunisia has therefore invested in public security and launched initial reforms of the justice system.
However, the justice system is swamped, and this is also reflected in the country’s prisons. Prisoners have few socio-economic prospects after their release. This marginalisation and lack of prospects enables radical extremist groups to mobilise supporters for their causes in prisons.
Objective
Violence in prisons is reduced, fewer inmates are radicalised in prison and after their release, and the Tunisian Government can better contain violent extremism.
Approach
The project supports the Tunisian Government in reducing violence and radicalisation in prisons. It helps to improve the conditions in prisons and reintegrate former prisoners.
The project operates in three fields of activity:
- Vocational training and reintegration: The professional and social reintegration of prisoners after their release serves to prevent social isolation and any return to criminal activity as well as reducing radicalisation.
- Psychosocial support and socio-cultural activities: The project fosters a broader range of cultural and social services as well as psychological support services for inmates. Better conditions in prisons will lessen the prisoners’ everyday frustrations, which are a major source of violence in the detention centres.
- Support for the juvenile justice system: The project supports legal alternatives to prison sentences for minors in order to address prison overcrowding and tackle the potential for young people to be radicalised in detention centres.
Last update: March 2022