RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
UNDER THREAT
IN THE BIRTHPLACE OF
THE ARAB SPRING
Iconic photo of the Tunisian Parliament building being barricaded by military vehicles, one day after Kais Saied’s coup on 25th July 2021 when he suspended parliament and dismissed the government.
Latest Developments
Latest Articles
Victims of Rights Violations
Note: This list is constantly being updated due to the continued expansion of the circle of repression in the country.
Special Reports
Elections 2024: Kais Saied Sets "Electoral Locks" and Eliminates Most of His Competitors
Tunisia is living through a bleak presidential election (2024) and a dull atmosphere due to legal and political restrictions and judicial prosecutions of the competitors of Kais Saied – the current president – for the presidency.
All forms of restrictions have affected the electoral climate, which is tinged with fear and uncertainty, which has affected the course of the electoral process and its integrity and led to the exclusion of a number of important candidates.
Help free the Head of Parliament and other political prisoners.
Learn about Leïla Jaffel's crimes against the Justice System.
Who is Kais Saied, the man who destroyed a nascent democracy?
The last legitimate president of the Supreme Judicial Council.
We are a group of Tunisians defending human rights and the gains of the 2011 Revolution. We seek to defend all Tunisians and enable them to exercise their rights and prevent any violations of their freedom.
Legal Action
International cases
March 22nd, 2023
The families of a number of detainees, including Issa, submitted a request to the UK Government asking for sanctions to be imposed on Kais Saied (President of the Republic of Tunisia, Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-in-chief of the Tunisian Armed Forces, 23 October 2019 – present); Ridha Gharsallaoui (Former Acting Interior Minister, 29 July 2021 – 11 October 2021); Taoufik Charfeddine (Interior Minister, 11 October 2021 – 18 March 2023); Kamel Feki (Interior Minister, 18 March – present); Leïla Jaffel (Justice Minister, 11 October 2021 – present); and Imed Memmich (Minister of National Defense, 11 October 2021 – present).
The sanctions request was made on behalf of: Noureddine Bhiri, Judge Bechir Akremi, Said Ferjani MP, Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chebbi, Chaima Issa, Ridha Belhaj, Rached Ghannouchi, and the deceased opposition party member Ridha Bouzayene.
April 26th, 2023
An application for sanctions was filed at the EU.
May 25th, 2023
CASE FILING AT AFRICAN COURT OF HUMAN AND PEOPLES RIGHTS
A statement by the families stated that “Tunisia is one of only six African countries that have fully signed up to the African Court. This means that individuals from Tunisia can make direct applications to the court. The African court has jurisdiction to deal with all cases and disputes submitted to it involving allegations of human rights abuses… The application asked for urgent provisional measures to be granted ordering the immediate release of the detainees, and for the Tunisian Government to provide the detainees with medical care and full access to their legal teams. For the deceased individual, the application asked for a ruling that there is an investigation into his death and that all the evidence is preserved. Decisions by the court are binding.”
The African Court filing was made on behalf of the family members of political prisoners Noureddine Bhiri, Bechir Akremi; lSaid Ferjani, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ridha Belhaj, Chaima Issa, Issam Chebbi and Rached Ghannouchi as well as the family of Ridha Bouzayene, who was killed at the hands of the police after his arrest during a demonstration in January 2022.
September 1st, 2023
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights called on the Tunisian government to “take urgent measures regarding 4 political detainees in Tunisia, in relation to the conditions of their detention in prison”, including Noureddine Bhiri.” The African Court called, in a statement published by several Arab and international websites, to remove all barriers that prevent 4 Tunisian political detainees from communicating with their families, lawyers, and doctors of their choice,” and to inform the detainees, their families, and their lawyers of the reasons for their detention, specifically providing “sufficient information and facts related to the legal and factual basis for the detention.”
October 5th, 2023
An article 15 complaint was filed at the International Criminal Court in The Hague asking for an investigation to be opened into the alleged crimes committed by the Tunisian Government – directed by Kais Saied – against civilians throughout society, in particular opposition leaders and parties, Black Tunisians and migrants, judges, trade unions, journalists and civil society.
The case was submitted on behalf of the family members of Chaima Issa as well as Rached Ghannouchi, Said Ferjani, Ghazi Chaouachi, and Noureddine Bhiri. The application also called for an investigation into the death of Ridha Bouzayene. The communication asked the prosecutor to investigate the following suspects: President Kais Saied; current Interior Minister Kamel Feki; former Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine; Justice Minister Leïla Jaffel; Minister of National Defense Imed Memmich, and the heads of the army and the Garde Nationale.
World Organisation Against Torture
Torture roads vol n°3 : The shrinking of civic space and its impact on people on the move in Tunisia
This report by the World Organisation Against Torture presents an overview of human rights violations committed between May and October 2024 against migrants and the administrative and judicial measures taken against civil society organizations and human rights defenders who assist people on the move.
