Skip links

Sayedd Ferjani

Detained

Card Contents

About

Affiliation
Member of Parliament (2019) and leading member of Ennahdha Party

Date of Birth
February 2, 1955

Nationality
Tunisian

Date Targeted

February 27, 2023

Current Status

Detained

Charges

Conspiracy against internal and external state security, attempted “change of state structure”, undermining external state security, money laundering, and incitement to violence, among other charges – including under the 2015 “Anti-Terrorism Law” – some of which carry the death penalty.

Cases and Violations

Judicial District
Sousse 2 Court

Case Details: Instalingo Case

  • February 27, 2023: Security forces arrested Ferjani. He was interrogated about banking operations and the seized property that was confiscated from his home, followingD a search warrant issued by the Public Prosecution, as well as his relationship with parties involved in the investigation into the Instalingo case. His lawyer reported that the investigating judge authorized technical tests on his client’s personal phone and the extraction of bank statements for other parties related to the case. He was kept in custody by the Criminal Cases Sub-Department in El-Gorjani. The official spokesperson for the Sousse 2 Court said that “the number of those investigated in this case has risen to about 36 suspects, 11 of whom are in custody and others are at large or on bail, and all of them are being investigated on various charges, most notably committing a heinous act against the head of state, conspiring against internal state security and espionage”, including security personnel, media professionals and businessmen, according to him.
  • March 1, 2023: The investigating judge at the Sousse 2 Court of First Instance interrogated Ferjani about his contacts and wealth. The investigating judge issued a warrant for his imprisonment.
  • March 2, 2023: Ferjani went on a brutal hunger strike, based on the issuance of a warrant for his imprisonment.
  • 22nd March 2023: The families of a number of detainees, including Chebbi, 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.
  • 26th April 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; Said 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.
  • 1 September 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 Noureddine Bhiri as well as Rached Ghannouchi, Said Ferjani, Ghazi Chaouachi, and Chaima Issa, Ridha Belhaj. 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.

Ferjani’s family and lawyer have told Human Rights Watch that he had no connection to Instalingo. Ferjani is held in Sousse prison.

عربية
Français
Icon-x Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

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.