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 Families of jailed Tunisians to urge ICC to probe migrant abuse.

Relatives of jailed Tunisian opposition figures plan to file a submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate alleged rights violations against migrants and refugees in the country, The Guardian newspaper reports.

The move planned for next week by the group, which previously petitioned The Hague-based court to probe alleged political persecution in Tunisia, comes amid new reports that Black migrants in Tunisia are suffering far-reaching abuse, including sexual violence, from security forces.

“The ICC has the jurisdiction to investigate these alleged crimes against humanity and should act with the full force of international law to protect those most vulnerable,” the British newspaper quoted Rodney Dixon KC, the lawyer heading the case, as saying.

The report by the newspaper on Friday followed its investigation this week into allegations of abuses committed by European Union-funded security forces.

Tunisia’s treatment of sub-Saharan African migrants, who often travel to the country as a springboard to reach Europe by sea, has come under scrutiny since it struck a 100 million euro ($112m) deal with the EU in July 2023 to help it combat undocumented migration.

The same month, Tunisian authorities rounded up hundreds of Black migrants and refugees and dumped them in the Libyan and Algerian deserts with no food and water, where at least 27 died, leading to accusations the EU was outsourcing a violent border management strategy.

The expulsions in Tunisia continued with such frequency that they became unofficial policy, rights groups said.

Tunisian authorities are also now facing mounting claims of assaults and sexual violence against migrants, who are still being expelled into barren desert areas, according to a recent investigation by The Guardian.

“We’ve had so many cases of women being raped in the desert. They take them from here and attack them,” local activist Yasmine, who opened a healthcare association that supports migrants in the coastal town of Sfax, told the newspaper.

Tunisian authorities denied the allegations reported by the newspaper, claiming their security personnel “operate with “professionalism” and respect “international principles and standards”.