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Two Days After His Release: A New Prison Sentence Against Ahmed Laamari 

The Gabes Court of First Instance issued a ruling at the end of last December to imprison Ennahdha Party leader and former MP Ahmed Laamari for three and a half months with a suspended sentence. This ruling comes following a case the details of which were not clearly disclosed by the court or the defense team. This case has sparked widespread controversy due to the repeated summons and arrests of Laamari  n recent years in sensitive political contexts and due to his poor health.

Details of the case and previous arrests

Ahmed Laamari has been subjected to a series of arrests and judicial prosecutions, as he was arrested in January 2024 after a security raid on his home in Ben Guerdene by a specialized security team, during which they searched the house and seized archive boxes related to his previous parliamentary activity. On August 8, 2023, the indictment chamber specializing in terrorism cases decided to refer Ahmed Laamari and former Minister Mehdi Ben Gharbia to the criminal chamber specializing in terrorism cases on charges related to “crimes of a terrorist nature.”

On March 8, 2023, the investigating judge at the Gabes Court of First Instance issued three prison warrants against Ahmed Laamari, along with former Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Ben Salem and a customs colonel, on charges related to “participating in a group aimed at planning and preparing to commit the crime of leaving Tunisian territory illegally.” He was temporarily released in September 2023 after several months in detention.

The Gabes Court of First Instance issued a ruling sentencing Ennahdha Movement leading member and former MP Ahmed Laamari to three and a half months in prison with a suspended sentence, on suspicion of fraudulent endorsements during his candidacy for the presidential elections. This ruling comes in the context of a series of cases filed against Laamari, amid ongoing controversy over the circumstances of his arrest and his poor health conditions in prison.

Temporary release and re-arrest

Ahmed Laamari’s family confirmed that the authorities temporarily released him on the night of December 24, 2024, based on a decision by the Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Tunis. The release procedures were completed on December 25 at 2:00 a.m. after he was transferred from Mornaguia Prison to the National Guard area, where his family received him in a deteriorating health condition.

His lawyer, Mokhtar Jemai, reported Laamari returned to his home in the Chahbania area, but was summoned again on Thursday, December 26, to the Ben Guerdene Guard headquarters, and was released after hours of interrogation.

On the evening of the same day, while Laamari was preparing to undergo urgent delicate surgery at Charles Nicole Hospital on the recommendation of his attending physician, he was summoned again by the Ben Guerdene Guard for additional investigations, and has not been released since then.

Health status and ongoing abuse

His lawyer confirmed that Ahmed Laamari is suffering from a serious deterioration in his health as a result of the poor detention conditions and the lack of adequate medical care. He pointed out that repeatedly summoning Laamari at inappropriate times and preventing him from undergoing surgery constitutes a form of systematic abuse against him, which raises serious concerns about his physical and psychological safety.

Freedom for Tunisia Observatory Comment

The Freedom for Tunisia Observatory expresses its deep concern about the continued harassment of Ennahdha Movement leading member Ahmed Laamari, especially in light of the deterioration of his health and his denial of necessary medical care. Manipulating the release procedures and re-arresting him at close intervals, despite urgent medical recommendations, constitutes a flagrant violation of human rights and international standards for a fair trial.

The Observatory’s Call

  • The Observatory calls for the immediate release of Ahmed Laamari to ensure that he receives the necessary health care.
  • It calls on the Tunisian authorities to stop the systematic abuse of political detainees and ensure that they are treated with dignity and humanity.
  • The Observatory stresses the importance of adhering to fair and transparent trial standards and rejecting any exploitation of the judiciary for political purposes.

The continuation of this pattern of harassment and arrests, amid deteriorating human rights conditions in Tunisia, threatens to undermine confidence in the justice system and lead to further social and political tension.

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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.