Tunisia detains prominent activist Saadia Mosbah over 'financial crimes'

Tunisia's public prosecutor on Tuesday detained Saadia Mosbah, a prominent activist and head of a nongovernmental group that defends the rights of migrants, human rights groups said, hours after President Kais Saied accused some groups that defend sub-Saharan migrants of treason.

Tunisia has been grappling with a severe migration crisis due to an influx of sub-Saharan Africans seeking to migrate to Europe in boats.

Local media reported police began investigating Mosbah, whose group combats racism and defends migrants' rights, on suspicion of financial crimes.

Residents of the southern town of El Amra demonstrated in favour of deporting migrants last weekend, saying the situation had become unbearable.

Saied said during a meeting of the national security council on Monday the migrant situation raised questions about who was behind it.

"This situation cannot continue and Tunisia will not be a land for the settlement of migrants," he said.

Saied said many officials who run civil society groups defending migrants' rights were "traitors" who receive funds from abroad.

Local media said after Saied's speech the judiciary began investigating some groups helping migrants in a move critics said aims to silence them.

Last year Saied said the arrival thousands of illegal migrants from sub-Saharan African countries was a "conspiracy to change the country's demographic make up", prompting the African Union to condemn what it called Tunisia’s "hate speech" against migrants.

Tunisia has replaced Libya as the region’s main departure point for people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East in the hope of a better life in Europe.