Tunisia: opposition to sue Saied over arbitrary detentions
The defence committee of political detainees in Tunisia has vowed to sue President Kais Saied over the arbitrary detention of over 50 opposition figures, reports The New Arab Plus agencies.
During a press conference on the 16th of April, Islem Hamza, a committee member stated that “after 14 months in custody, those arrested on charges of conspiring against state security have not had any charges proven against them. However, authorities insist on keeping them in prison.”
On the 10th of February 2023, the Anti-Terrorism and Organised Crime National Unit sent a letter to the Minister of Justice, Leila Jaffel, kickstarting the case. The letter contained only one sentence, which read: “Certain civilians were conspiring against the security of state.”
On the same day, the letter was also sent to the Public Prosecutor at the Court of First Instance of Tunis, instructing them to “undertake and authorise the necessary investigations.”
Over the course of 14 months, 52 people have been tried for conspiracy against state security under the controversial anti-terrorism law which defines terrorism as “causing harm to private and public property, vital resources, infrastructure, transportation and communication means, computer systems, or public services.”
Activists and political figures such as Khayam Al-Turki, Issam Chebbi and Jawhar Ben Mubarak are among the detained.
READ: Hundreds of Tunisians demand release of Saied’s opponents
Tunisian President Kais Saied has been openly vocal on his opinions about the case against what he calls the “conspirers.”
In the last few months, Saied has publicly pressured judges to assume the “historical responsibility” in prosecuting those accused of conspiring against Tunisia.
He stated, “Whoever acquits them is their accomplice.” The defence team of the detainees considered this a direct threat and an interference with justice.
On the 16th, Saied criticised the lengthy processes against the detainees, demanding an urgent trial.
“Money is still flowing to them from abroad through associations,” he claimed.
READ: Al Jazeera journalist latest victim of Saied’s ruthless regime
Investigations into the 52 figures were concluded on the 16th of April. Charges for 12 of the detained were dropped, whereas the other 40 were charged with “forming a terrorist cell, donating money to a terrorist organisation, conspiring to change the state’s form, and committing a heinous act against the president.”
The case is purely political said the detainees’ defence team, “The detention orders were issued politically and will only be lifted politically,” argued Dalila Mssedek, a committee member.
“We will hold accountable anyone responsible for keeping the political detainees after midnight on Friday. We will resort to international courts and all judicial bodies and international entities to demand their release,” she added.
However, as of the 17th, the defence committee said they have not yet seen the final report.
According to the defence committee, by processing the case as a terrorism-related one and continuing the investigation using the specialised unit, authorities were able to obscure it further and reject attempts to identify the details of the charges and the evidence on which they were based.
The final report is set to be made public on, 19 April.
There is no legal framework legitimising the subjects’ detention past the 19th of April at midnight, however, the defence committee fears that there are ongoing ‘illegitimate’ plans to bypass the limited pre-trial detention to keep the arrested figures behind bars.
The New Arab/ Agencies.
