Country: Tunisia

Efforts taken by the state after the Tunisian revolution to strengthen human rights protection have been tainted with violations to fundamental guarantees and fair trial rights, especially committed in the framework of counter-terrorism and national security cases. The counter-terrorism law currently in force defines terrorism broadly and establishes a legal regime which severely restricts fundamental legal safeguards for persons held in custody.

In the wake of a series of deadly attacks in 2015, the executive has regularly prolonged the state of emergency, granting the Ministry of Interior exceptional powers, such as carrying out home arrests and imposing curfews. The maintenance of public order has also been used as justification to restrict the freedoms of assembly, association and expression.

In the field of transitional justice, a commission was established to investigate the serious human rights violations committed between 1955 and 2013. As the commission’s mandate has not been extended, and given the low number of cases referred to specialised courts, many victims and families now fear that impunity for past crimes will prevail. Alongside the lack of security sector vetting and reform and the interference of the executive in the judiciary, the situation does not allow for effective measures to avoid the repetition of past practices of human rights violations.

Joint letter to the Tunisian government: do not extradite human rights defender Zakaria Hannache!

MENA Rights Group is joined by 16 human rights organisations in urging the Tunisian government not to extradite human rights defender Zakaria Hannache to Algeria, where he may face human rights abuses such as torture. Hannache is protected from refoulement by his refugee status, and the UN Committee against Torture has reiterated the Tunisian authorities’ […]

Le défenseur des droits humains algérien Zaki Hannache ne court plus le risque d’être renvoyé de Tunisie

Zakaria – également connu sous le nom de « Zaki » – Hannache est un défenseur des droits humains amazigh algérien. Depuis 2019, il documente les arrestations et les poursuites de prisonniers d’opinion, notamment en lien avec le mouvement de protestation pacifique Hirak. Il est devenu l’une des principales sources d’information sur la détention arbitraire de prisonniers […]

Algerian human rights defender Zaki Hannache no longer at risk of forcible return from Tunisia

Zakaria – also known as “Zaki” – Hannache is an Algerian Amazigh human rights defender. Since 2019, he has been documenting the arrests and prosecutions of prisoners of conscience, particularly in relation to the peaceful protest movement known as Hirak. He became one of the main sources of information on the arbitrary detention of prisoners […]

Risk of refoulement of asylum seeker in cooperation with Algerian authorities would mark a dangerous turning point for human rights for Tunisia

The undersigned organizations express their deep concern at the risk of refoulement of an Algerian asylum seeker – Zakaria Hannache – present in Tunisia since August 2022. Tunisian authorities must under no circumstances repeat the dangerous precedent set by the kidnapping and refoulement of Algerian refugee Slimane Bouhafs on 25 August, 2021, about which no […]

Decree n ° 78-50 of January 26, 1978, regulating the state of emergency

Decree-Law on the organization of associations

TUN_EstablishmentOfNHRI_2018_AR

TUN_EliminationOfViolenceAgainstWomen_2017_AR

Law n° 2013-43 dated 21October 2013, relating to the national authority for the prevention of torture

Réforme de l’état d’urgence, l’ONU demande à la Tunisie de revoir sa copie

Plusieurs Rapporteurs spéciaux au titre des procédures spéciales de l’ONU ont demandé à la Tunisie de prendre toutes les mesures nécessaires pour corriger les inconsistances du projet de loi n° 91/2018 relative à l’organisation de l’état d’urgence. Article 19 Middle East & North Africa et MENA Rights Group avaient souligné les nombreuses insuffisances du texte […]