In the two years since Tunisian President Kais Saied seized power on July 25, 2021, Saied has systematically dismantled the country’s system of checks and balances, and the process has been further exacerbated by the recent wave of arrests that have shaken the country since early 2023, including the notable “Conspiracy Against State Security Case,” in which a number of prominent political prisoners have been detained and ordered into pretrial detention.
As journalists, activists, union members, and many in Saied’s political opposition have been arbitrarily targeted for baseless corruption, conspiracy, or terrorism charges and with limited access to legal representation, Saied has publicly labeled arrested individuals as “terrorists” and “criminals with blood on their hands.” Alongside this, the independence of the judiciary has been a consistent target of attacks by President Saied, where his deliberate disregard for the rule of law has been accompanied by the implementation of unconstitutional measures and the undermining of the many significant democratic achievements since the 2011 Revolution. Western counterparts, including the US, the EU, EU member states, and certain UN bodies, have occasionally denounced these abuses. However, their response has been inconsistent, with officials often prioritizing more narrow national interests while failing to consistently address the plight of political detainees and the rule of law crisis in Tunisia.
On Thursday, July 20, 2023, the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), Avocats Sans Frontières, EuroMed Rights, and The Tunisian National Committee for the Defense of Freedoms and Democracy co-hosted a virtual panel discussion on the Tunisian government’s targeting of political prisoners and its ongoing assaults on the rule of law. In a conversation moderated by Fida Hammami, panelists Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddak, Kamel Jendoubi, and Antonio Manganella explored questions such as: What trends are we seeing in the targeting of Tunisia’s political opposition? What is the end goal of President Saied’s power grab and continued measures? What is the connection between these assaults on the rule of law and Tunisia’s democratic development? How can the international community better respond to this arbitrary political repression?
Watch the discussion in French here:
A recording of the English interpretation of the discussion is forthcoming. Check back here soon!
Speaker Profiles:
Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddak
Lawyer and member of the defense committee for the accused of plotting against state securityDalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek is a Tunisian lawyer specialized in social and labor law. During the peak of the Arab Spring protests in Tunisia, she co founded Doustourna (our constitution) which was the first associative movement in Tunisia that mobilized citizens throughout the country to participate in the drafting of “the Fundamental Law”. She is currently an active member of the defense committee for the accused of plotting against state security.
Kamel Jendoubi
Human Rights Activist and President of Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights NetworkMr Kamel Jendoubi served as the President of the Independent Higher Electoral Commission (ISIE), which organized the first free and democratic elections in Tunisia, in October, 2011. He has served as a member and president of several human rights associations, including the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network and Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. He was also a member of the executive council of the World Organization Against Torture. Jendoubi spent 17 years in exile as a result of his human rights activism in Tunisia.
Fida Hammami (Moderator)
Tunisian Human Rights DefenderFida Hammami is currently the Legal Advisor on Tunisia at the International Commission of Jurists in Tunis. Previously, she was the MENA Advocacy coordinator at Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and prior to that, she worked as a Tunisia researcher at Amnesty International.
Antonio Manganella
Euromed Regional Director at Avocats Sans FrontièresAntonia Manganella is the EURMED regional director for Lawyers without Borders (Avocats sans frontières), currently based in Tunisia. He has over a decade of experience in human rights law and advocacy, working with Amnesty International France, AIDES, The Catholic Committee against Hunger and for Development (CCFD) as well as European institutions and international actors. He has been especially active in condemning the recent assaults on the rule of law that are occurring in Tunisia.