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Free Destourian Party Leader Mariam Sassi Released

Free Destourian Party leader Mariam Sassi was released today, Wednesday, October 30, after serving an eight-month prison sentence on charges related to Article 20 of Decree No. 54 of 2022. The main charge against her was “disrupting an information system” by entering or changing unauthorized data on the party’s social media platforms. Her trial began in March 2024, when she was arrested and investigated on issues related to the use of the party’s electronic accounts and their impact on the information system. She was then sentenced to eight months in prison.

The defense team considered that the procedures related to this case did not respect the rights of the defense, pointing to violations of the confidentiality of legal conversations related to Mariam Sassi’s defense, and stressed that the charge was used as a pretext for political persecution of members of the opposition party, especially in the absence of material evidence. Sassi also faced investigation into charges of seeking to alter the state’s authority before being dismissed from the case, further complicating her trial.

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Ayachi Zammel’s Release Denied, Case Postponed by Court of Appeal

On Saturday, November 30, 2024, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Tunis rejected the request to release former presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel and his campaign member and Azmoun Movement treasurer, Suwar Al-Barqawi. The court also decided to postpone the case against them to a later date.

Six-Month Prison Sentence for Lotfi Mraihi for Spreading False News

The 14th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Tunis ruled on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, to sentence the leader of the Popular Republican Union party, Lotfi Mraihi, to six months in prison, on charges of “using information and communication systems to publish and promote false news.”

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Call to Action

Website petition: Freedom for prisoners of conscience and activists in Tunisia!

Tunisia is no longer the Arab exception that inspired the world in 2011 with a heroic revolution that overthrew the rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who ruled for nearly 23 years after seizing power on November 7, 1987, in a coup against Habib Bourguiba.

In a similar and perhaps more dangerous move, on the night of July 25, 2021, Tunisian President Kais Saied carried out a “constitutional coup” in accordance with his personal interpretation of Article 80 of the 2014 Revolutionary Constitution, announcing that he had taken a set of exceptional measures due to the “imminent danger” that threatens Tunisia without providing any details or reasons.

In accordance with these measures, Saied dismissed the government and the prime minister Hichem Mechichi who was present at the National Security Council that night at the Carthage Palace, and claimed that he had contacted the Speaker of Parliament Rached Ghannouchi (leader of the Ennahdha party) to consult with him in accordance with what is stipulated by the constitution, a claim which Ghannouchi denied since the call was general and did not include anything about exceptional measures or any consultation on the matter. The president suspended Parliament and later dissolved it in March 2022.

Not only did Saied seek to bypass his powers and the articles of the Constitution, which he swore to protect before the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, but he went on to dismiss and change the composition of the Supreme Judicial Council after redefining the judiciary it as a “function” rather than an independent authority. He further replaced members of the Supreme Electoral Commission in preparation for the referendum he held in order to vote on a constitution that he wrote himself after dismissing the proposals of the drafting committee he had himself appointed. Then legislative elections were held over two rounds, in which the participation rate did not exceed 8% of the total number of voters, with the Election Commission later announcing that it had reached 11%, which is the lowest participation rate in Tunisia and globally.

On February 11, President Saied’s regime launched a campaign of protests that has not stopped since, against political leaders, media figures, journalists, judges and senior officials and civil servants, for charges of “conspiring against the security of the state and committing an offensive act against the President of the Republic,” in addition to other charges that were referred to the military prosecution, leading one to wonder about the implication of the Tunisian army in the actions taken by Saied.

The arbitrary arrests were marred by several procedural violations amid criticism from prominent international organizations and observatories in the field of human rights. The standards of litigation and detention period and conditions were not respected. Prosecution and harassment sometimes extended to the detainees’ families, and no evidence, and in many cases, no charges against them were presented.

Moreover trade unions and political parties continue to be subjected to constant harassment and restrictions. Saied continues to target all “intermediary bodies” accusing them of “collaboration” or “treason”. Civil society associations have also been subjected to prosecution, arbitrary arrests and deprivation from representation, in a context of of increasing violence in society due to the authorities’ adoption of racist and discriminatory speeches and rhetoric inciting infighting and violating human dignity.

In light of the above, we, the undersigned, demand the following:

Call for the immediate release of all political detainees, immediately and unconditionally. We also urge the Tunisian authorities to recognize the national and the international human rights treaties they have ratified.
Call on the Tunisian authorities to stop dismantling the nascent democracy and put an end to unfair trials and prosecutions against political opponents of the regime and anyone who criticises it.
Call on all activists and observers to join the national movement for restoring democracy and ending authoritarian rule that has taken Tunisia back to despotism, injustice, and violations of rights and freedoms.