United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issues Opinion No. 2/2025 regarding Judge Bechir Akremi, former Attorney General and academic, arbitrarily detained in Tunisia.
On January 31, 2024, Alkarama and the Association of Victims of Torture in Tunisia (AVTT) submitted the case of Mr. Bechir Akremi to the WGAD. He has been arbitrarily detained since February 2023.
In its decision, the Working Group emphasized that the detention of a judge due to the exercise of his functions undermines the very essence of the rule of law.
It further noted that the circumstances surrounding Mr. Akremi’s case — including his arrest following his refusal to yield to external pressures in sensitive cases, his unjustified placement in a psychiatric hospital, and prosecutions on matters already dismissed or closed — reflect a worrying pattern of judicial intimidation that goes beyond his personal case and threatens not only his rights but the integrity of the entire Tunisian judicial system. These measures send a chilling message of intimidation to all judges who continue to defend their independence against political pressure.
The Working Group referred this case to the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. It also found that Mr. Akremi’s deprivation of liberty was arbitrary, violating Articles 3, 9, and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This detention falls under categories I and III of the classification of arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
The Working Group called for Mr. Akremi’s immediate release and the guarantee of his right to remedy, including compensation, in accordance with international law. It also urged the Tunisian government to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the circumstances of this arbitrary detention and to take necessary measures against those responsible for these violations. The Working Group requested that the government use all available means to widely disseminate this opinion.
Background of the case
Mr. Bechir Akremi was arrested on February 12, 2023, around 5 p.m. by about twenty plainclothes officers from the anti-terrorism brigade, who searched his home without a judicial warrant or notification of the reasons for his arrest. He was charged with several offenses mainly based on the controversial anti-terrorism law and placed in detention in complete violation of legislation and his fundamental rights.
Alkarama initially submitted his case to the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers in a communication dated February 7, 2023. Then, given the conditions of his detention, Alkarama also seized the Special Rapporteur on torture in a letter dated April 12, 2023.
Subsequently, Mr. Akremi’s detention was extended for four more months without legal justification or apparent necessity, confirming the political nature of the proceedings against him.
Alkarama seizes the Working Group
In view of these developments, Alkarama, in collaboration with AVTT, decided to bring the case of Judge Akremi — unjustly imprisoned for refusing to succumb to political threats and pressure — before the UN mechanisms.
In its communication, Alkarama emphasized that Mr. Akremi’s deprivation of liberty, based on an anti-terrorism law that does not respect the principle of legality, renders his detention arbitrary. Many UN experts have already denounced the incompatibility of this law with international standards and called on Tunisia to reform its legislation.
However, the authorities continue to use this law to justify arbitrary arrests and detentions targeting political figures, lawyers, or judges, despite the peaceful nature of their activities and the lack of material evidence. Mr. Akremi is thus detained in total violation of his right to a fair trial, on the basis of facts already judged or subject to final decisions of dismissal or non-suit.
Alkarama reiterated its concern about the lack of judicial independence, severely compromised by the unilateral decisions of the current president, Kaïs Saïed, who exerts total control over the judicial system. Today, Mr. Akremi faces a judicial system entirely subordinated to the executive power, with no effective recourse to assert his rights.
For these reasons, Alkarama requested that the detention of Mr. Akremi be recognized as arbitrary, that the Tunisian authorities be ordered to cease the persecution and reprisals against this honest judge, and that his immediate release be ordered.
Alkarama will continue to monitor this case and inform the Working Group of any developments, including concrete measures the Tunisian government will take to implement this UN opinion.
Finally, Alkarama reminds that the Human Rights Council has called on all States to cooperate with the Working Group, to take its opinions into account, to work to end all situations of arbitrary detention, and to inform it of measures taken in this regard.