Alkarama and the Association of Victims of Torture in Tunisia (AVTT) have submitted a joint complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) concerning Mr. Noureddine BHIRI, lawyer, former Member of Parliament and former Tunisian Minister of Justice, who has been detained on political grounds since his arrest on 13 February 2023.
Arrest and Judicial Harassment of an Opposition Figure
Mr. BHIRI was arrested at his home by around ten security officers, subjected to violence and a shoulder fracture, before being taken to the Bouchoucha barracks and then placed in detention. Despite medical advice, he was sent back to prison, where he has faced harsh detention conditions and very limited access to healthcare.
Since then, Mr. BHIRI has faced several charges, including the alleged granting of Tunisian nationality to foreigners linked to terrorist networks, involvement in the death of a former MP and accusations of conspiracy against state security. Part of these accusations is based on a fake Facebook post attributed to him, reflecting persecution linked to his political opinions. Other charges rely on Tunisia’s problematic counterterrorism legislation, drafted in overly broad and vague terms and used to repress peaceful opposition.
To this day, Mr. BHIRI remains detained in Mornaguia prison, despite his age and fragile health. The aftereffects of his shoulder fracture, combined with repeated hunger strikes, significantly increase the risks to his health and life.
Violations of Fundamental Rights and Arbitrary Deprivation of Liberty
In their submission, Alkarama and AVTT demonstrated that the proceedings against Mr. BHIRI fall far short of international fair trial standards. They recalled that the independence of the judiciary has been undermined by the concentration of powers in the hands of President Kaïs Saïed, the subordination of the Supreme Judicial Council and the dismissal of independent judges.
In this context, the executive branch also publicly declared Mr. BHIRI’s guilt before any trial took place, while his lawyer, the Bar Association President Abderrazzak Kilani, himself targeted by multiple charges before a military court, was forced to leave the country. Mr. BHIRI has therefore not been judged by an impartial tribunal and has been denied full guarantees of defense.
His detention is in fact part of a broader pattern of political persecution: repeated arrests, arbitrary proceedings and baseless convictions appear aimed at punishing his political views and mere affiliation with the opposition, in the context of systematic repression of dissenting voices in Tunisia since 2021.
Call for Immediate and Unconditional Release
In light of the gravity of these violations and the manifestly arbitrary nature of his detention, Alkarama and AVTT urged the UN Working Group to acknowledge the arbitrariness of Mr. BHIRI’s deprivation of liberty and above all, to urge Tunisia to secure his immediate and unconditional release, to conduct an independent investigation into the abuses and to provide full redress for the harm he has endured.