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Rights Organizations Call for the Release of Political Prisoners

Tunisian organizations and personalities called today, Tuesday, for the release of political detainees in the country in what is known as the “conspiracy against state security” case.

This came according to a joint statement issued by 11 organizations, including the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights, the Al-Bawsala Association, the Resilience Coalition, and 20 personalities and human rights activists, including the thinker Youssef Al-Siddiq, and the former head of the Elections Commission, Kamal Jendoubi.

The signatories to the statement called on the judiciary to play its constitutional role in protecting rights and freedoms, respecting evidence of innocence, and enabling detainees to have fair trials.

They also called on the executive authority not to interfere in the judiciary and to stop broadcasting discourse that further divides Tunisians and deepens the unprecedented crisis the country is going through, as they put it.

The joint statement called on democratic and civil organizations and forces from civil and political society and other citizens to participate extensively in the support stand organized by the Defense Authority for the detainees, Thursday, before the Court of Appeal (Appeal) in Tunis.

The authorities did not comment on the Tunisian activists’ demands, but they repeatedly affirm their protection of the rights of detainees and prisoners.

Next Thursday, the Court of Appeal in Tunis will consider a request for the release of detainees in the “conspiracy against state security” case, which was submitted by the defense team, after that was postponed a week ago.

arrest campaign
Since last February, a campaign of arrests in the country has affected politicians, media figures, activists, judges, and businessmen. On the 14th of the same month, Tunisian President Kais Saeed accused some of those arrested of “conspiring against state security and standing behind crises in the distribution of goods and high prices.”

The most prominent of those arrested in connection with the case are the head of the Ennahda Movement, Rashid Ghannouchi, the former Secretary-General of the Democratic Current, Ghazi Chaouachi, and the Secretary-General of the Republican Party, Issam Chebbi.

In return for Saeed’s repeated emphasis on the independence of the judicial system, the opposition accuses him of using the judiciary to pursue those who reject exceptional measures he imposed on July 25, 2021, and considers them a consecration of absolute individual rule.

The most prominent of these measures are the dismissal of the government and the appointment of another, the dissolution of the Judicial Council and Parliament, the issuance of legislation by presidential orders, the holding of early legislative elections, and the approval of a new constitution through a referendum.

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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.