September 6, 2026 – Mohamed Ali Ben Khamis Ben Zid, a young man from the Sidi Hassine area and a holder of a disability card, has died weeks after his arrest and transfer to Mornaguia Civil Prison. At the time, he was suffering from a chronic mental illness and had been receiving treatment at Razi Hospital since 2018. His family is demanding that the circumstances of his death be revealed and an investigation conducted into whether he received the medication and care his condition required.
Mohamed Ali was arrested at his home on July 31, 2026, due to posts and comments he had published on Facebook. He spent approximately two weeks at the Bouchoucha detention center before being referred to the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Pole. His family maintains that the posts in question were made during a medical episode that coincided with disruptions in his access to the psychiatric medication he took regularly.
Mohamed Ali had been receiving treatment at Razi Hospital for years; his condition sometimes required hospitalization during acute episodes until his situation stabilized.
From Bouchoucha to Mornaguia, despite his need for treatment:
During his detention, his lawyer requested that he be hospitalized for treatment given his health condition; however, this did not happen, as the procedure required him to first be examined by a specialist physician.
On August 14, 2026, Mohamed Ali was transferred to Mornaguia Civil Prison. Since his arrest, his family had attempted to get his medication to him and had contacted Al-Razi Hospital, where they were informed that any transfer for treatment or admission to the medical facility required a request from the prison administration.
During the first visit after his transfer to Mornaguia Prison, he appeared to be in a state of collapse, pleading for his medication and asking to be released from prison. In a subsequent visit, the family observed a severe deterioration in his condition; he had become nearly unable to speak or stand normally.
Faced with this decline, the family urged the prison administration to intervene, provide him with medical treatment, and transfer him to Al-Razi Hospital. When they returned two days later to meet with the administration, they were informed that Mohamed Ali had been transferred to Charles Nicolle Hospital; they later learned of his death on Friday, August 27, 2026.
The family condemns the manner in which communication was handled during the final hours of Mohamed Ali’s life, stating that they received no clear or direct notification regarding the deterioration of his condition, his transfer, or his death, and were forced to seek out information themselves. They also believe that the conflicting answers and the delay in providing accurate details left them in a state of uncertainty and confusion at a time when their son’s life was at risk.
Blue marks on the body and demands to identify their source:
Upon examining Mohamed Ali’s body, the family noticed blue marks on parts of his body. This prompted them to demand an explanation regarding the origin of these marks, the circumstances under which they appeared, and any potential link to his treatment during detention or his health condition prior to death.
The family engaged a bailiff to examine the body and document its condition before burial; however, the bailiff subsequently declined to hand over the official report of the examination. A lawyer has been appointed to pursue the case and take the necessary measures to uncover the truth about what transpired from the time of Mohamed Ali’s arrest until his death.
A prisoner with a mental health condition has the right to continuity of treatment:
Tunisian prison law stipulates that conditions of detention must safeguard the prisoner’s physical and moral integrity and ensure access to physical and mental healthcare. Furthermore, Article 17 of Law No. 52 of 2001 affirms every prisoner’s right to medical treatment and medication, whether within the correctional facility or at a hospital when necessary.
This obligation is not limited to intervention following a health crisis; it extends to ensuring the continuity of treatment—particularly for individuals with chronic conditions whose stability depends on the regular intake of specific medications.
The Nelson Mandela Rules emphasize that prisoner healthcare is a state responsibility encompassing both physical and mental well-being; they also mandate the prompt referral of individuals requiring specialized care to appropriate medical facilities.
In Mohamed Ali’s case, his history of treatment at Razi Hospital and his known need for regular psychiatric care necessitated an immediate medical assessment upon his initial detention, a guarantee of uninterrupted medication, and a determination as to whether continued detention was appropriate given his health condition.
Position of the Freedom for Tunisia Observatory:
The Freedom for Tunisia Observatory expresses its profound condemnation regarding the death of Mohamed Ali Ben Zid following his detention while suffering from a known and documented chronic mental illness. It maintains that his progression from a patient undergoing specialized treatment to a state of mental collapse within prison—culminating in his death—necessitates a comprehensive, independent judicial and medical investigation.
The Observatory holds that responsibility in this case does not begin at the moment of death, but rather from the moment authorities became aware of Mohamed Ali’s health condition and his need for regular treatment and specialized psychiatric care.
The Observatory considers that detaining an individual with a chronic mental disorder without ensuring the continuity of their treatment—despite warnings from the family and legal counsel regarding his condition—may constitute a grave breach of the duty of care, whether through the failure to provide medication or delays in medical referral.
Furthermore, the Observatory rejects the treatment of psychiatric patients within the detention system as ordinary prisoners subject to standard conditions without special health arrangements. Prison is not a substitute for a hospital, and a penal institution must not become a place of confinement for individuals whose condition requires treatment in a specialized psychiatric facility.
The Observatory also condemns the failure to promptly and clearly inform the family of the deterioration of Mohamed Ali’s condition, his transfer, and his death. It warns against any attempt to withhold information, present conflicting accounts, or leave the family in a state of uncertainty.
Finally, the Observatory emphasizes that the presence of bruising on the body necessitates an independent examination to determine the nature, timing, and cause of these marks. It also notes that the decision by the public notary to retract the delivery of the inspection report requires verification, given the document’s potential importance in preserving evidence. The Observatory believes that the case of Mohamed Ali reveals an urgent need to review how security, prison, and judicial authorities handle individuals with mental disorders and disabilities, and to ensure that medical treatment and health protection take precedence over detention whenever the medical condition requires it.
The Freedom for Tunisia Observatory calls for:
- Opening an independent and urgent judicial investigation into the death of Mohamed Ali Ben Zid, covering the entire period from his arrest on July 31 to his death on August 27.
- Conducting an independent forensic autopsy to determine the exact cause of death, as well as the nature, timing, and origin of the bruising found on his body.
- Investigating the reasons for the failure to provide him with medication and the delay in transferring him to Razi Hospital—despite his medical records and requests from his family and lawyer—and determining the timing of his medical examinations and the decisions made regarding his condition.
- Granting the family and their lawyer access to his complete medical file from the prison and Charles Nicolle Hospital, including examination, treatment, and transfer reports, as well as autopsy results.
- Investigating why the family was not immediately notified of the deterioration of his condition, his transfer, and his death, and determining responsibility for any delays, withholding of information, or conflicting information provided to them.
- Investigating the circumstances surrounding the failure to provide the official report on the examination of the body, and ensuring the preservation of all documents, photographs, and evidence related to the death.
- Holding accountable anyone found negligent in providing treatment, medication, or medical referrals, or in protecting Mohamed Ali’s safety while in custody.
- Ensuring that any person suffering from a mental disorder or holding a disability certificate is examined by a specialist physician immediately upon arrest, with decisive priority given to the medical assessment when determining the appropriateness of continued detention.
- Adopt a clear, binding protocol to ensure the continuity of treatment for prisoners suffering from chronic mental illnesses and to prevent any interruption in medication during transfers between security centers, prisons, and hospitals.
- Enable the National Authority for the Prevention of Torture and relevant human rights bodies to monitor the case, visit places of detention, and examine the conditions under which prisoners with mental disorders are treated.
- Review the use of detention and imprisonment for individuals whose health conditions require admission to or follow-up within specialized psychiatric institutions, and prioritize treatment and care over detention whenever the medical condition so requires.
