Until when ?

2023 April

Tortured for breaking a car window

Rached, 24 years, Greater Tunis

Rached, aged 24, was arrested without a warrant in the middle of the night at the home of one of his friends. Suspected of breaking into a car and stealing sunglasses, he was taken into custody at a police station near Tunis. According to him, he was tortured in the basement of the station. The police officers beat him with sticks, fists and feet, sprayed him with tear gas and tied him to the wall in tight handcuffs until he lost consciousness. His family found him in hospital the next day, in a coma. His mother filed a complaint. Since his release from hospital, Rached has lost his job. He and his brother are under pressure to withdraw the complaint.
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A mother and her children traumatized by the police

Samira, 33 years, Sidi Bouzid

Samira, a mother of three living in Sidi Bouzid, is being harassed by the police because of her ex-husband's alleged membership in a jihadist movement. She has lost her job due to police pressure. All her applications for social assistance have been rejected because of her ex-husband's profile. The police have made several visits to her home in recent months, leaving her and her children traumatized. The last visit was in April 2023, when police threatened her children, who were home alone. SANAD provides Samira with psychological care and has helped her to finally obtain social benefits and a public healthcare scheme.
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January

Arbitrary detention turns tragic

Mohamed, 44 years, North of Tunisia

In June 2021, a criminal court declared Mohamed criminally irresponsible for the charges against him and ordered his compulsory hospitalization. Despite this, he was kept in prison for over a year and a half, due to lack of space at the Razi psychiatric hospital. In early February 2023, when Mohamed's father went to visit his son in prison, he discovered that he had been transferred to hospital a month earlier without him being informed. Following an incident in prison that remains unsolved, Mohamed became paraplegic. He almost had to have a leg amputated because the guards kept him tied by the ankles to his hospital bed even though he could no longer walk. Mohamed risks being sent back to prison, which would constitute arbitrary detention.
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Abused in front of her children

Ghofrane, 42 years, Tunis

Police raided Ghofrane’s home without a warrant on the suspicion of selling cannabis. She was arrested and taken to the police station with her two children, aged nine and ten. At the station, Ghofrane was beaten, handcuffed and insulted in front of her children as she refused to open her cell phone and requested the assistance of a lawyer. She signed an official report without reading it. After her release, Ghofrane went to hospital to obtain an immediate medical certificate and took photos of her injuries. SANAD Elhaq has filed a complaint for torture and is also coordinating with public child protection services to provide psychological assistance to the two traumatized children.
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2022 December

Assaulted and prosecuted for her gender identity

Maya, 22 years, Tunis

Maya, a Tunisian transgender woman, was subjected to violence and arbitrary detention on the basis of her sexual orientation and gender identity. In December 2022, Maya was arbitrarily arrested without a warrant, beaten and humiliated in police custody, then prosecuted and convicted under article 230 of the Tunisian Penal Code, which punishes homosexuality. She was again humiliated while in prison, where guards forcibly shaved her hair. At first instance, the court sentenced her to three years' imprisonment, the maximum penalty. In partnership with Damj, SANAD Elhaq has prepared a communication to several United Nations special procedures. Her sentence was reduced on appeal and Maya is now free. DAMJ and SANAD Elhaq are supporting her in her quest for redress.
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November

Beaten up for a comment

Salma, 38 years, Monastir

38 year old Salma was assaulted by officers at a police station in Monastir where she went to renew her identity card. Officers in charge did not appreciate her protesting against the fact that some people had cut the queue. She was arbitrarily detained in an office for five hours and beaten, insulted, humiliated and threatened. Photos and a medical exam (CMI) drawn up afterwards testify to the physical violence suffered. The agents took her into custody for contempt of public office to cover up the assault. Salma lodged a complaint. The investigation for violence and contempt is still underway.
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October

Harassed by the police on his wedding day

Khaled, 38 years, Kef

Khaled, 38, has been registered under administrative control measures known as “S” since he was briefly arrested in 2012 because of his religious appearance. Police visits him frequently at home and at work. He is often taken to the station for questioning outside of any criminal proceedings. Two days before his wedding in May 2022, Khaled was interrogated at the police station. The officers questioned him again on the day of his wedding. During his honeymoon in Djerba in June 2022, the police called him to the local police station to interrogate him there. On his return home, he was again summoned to the police station. In July, officers came to his workplace and took him to the station for four hours of questioning. Police officers visited him at work again in August, September and October. SANAD Elhaq has instructed a lawyer to lodge an appeal with the administrative court on grounds of excessive use of power in order to put an end to this intensive harassment.
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September

Beaten for incivility

Adel, 31 years, South-west Tunisia

Adel, 31 years old, alleges that he was clubbed and kicked by police officers on the public highway on September 23. He had just overtaken the car of a police officer driving a civilian vehicle. The latter became irritated and called in the police to intercept Adel’s vehicle. The officers beat Adel up. The officer with whom the altercation had taken place was accompanied by his cousin, who took a machete out of the car and hit Adel. Adel lost consciousness and was taken to hospital. He was granted a 90-day medical rest (CMI) and lodged a complaint. A month after the attack, five assailants were remanded in custody for violence. The public prosecutor indicted them and referred the case to the criminal court. An initial hearing took place on November 11, at the end of which the defendants were released. The trial is still in progress.
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Assaulted by his neighbor, a police officer

Hatem, 47 years, Sfax

One evening in September, Hatem had a party at home with his family. The noise bothered one of his neighbors, a police officer, who insulted him. The exchange got out of hand and the neighbor called the police. While waiting for them to arrive, the neighbor hit Hatem with a stone and beat him, dragging him to the ground as he lost consciousness. When the police arrived on the scene, they took the two men away and questioned them. Hatem has since obtained a CMI, testimonies and forensic expertise confirming his allegations. The investigation was quickly conducted by the public prosecutor, who decided to prosecute the agent for violence. But he also charged Hatem with public drunkenness and defamation. Their trial is underway.
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August

Suspicious death in prison

Hamdi, 27 years, Greater Tunis

Hamdi died in hospital on September 1, 2022, about a week after his transfer from the prison where he had been held on remand since May. When his father visited him in hospital just before his death, he found his son paralyzed. According to his father, Hamdi showed signs of violence and said that he had been severely beaten by prison guards. Shortly after his father's visit to the hospital, Hamdi fell into a coma and died, officially of cardio-respiratory failure. An investigation is underway, but to this day, Hamdi's family still doesn't know the causes, let alone the circumstances, of his death.
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A conniving aggression

Sayf, 22 years, Cap Bon

22-year old Sayf and a friend were assaulted by Bassem, the brother-in-law of Sayf's ex-fiancée. The two friends went to the police station to lodge a complaint. The officers told them that a police car would take them to the National Guard station. A police car pulled up in front of the station. Sayf climbed in and found himself insulted and beaten by two officers, one of whom he said was a friend of Bassem. Sayf insulted them in return, was hit again and taken into custody. Sayf's mother, who had joined her son at the police station, tried to intervene and was also hit. The justice system treated these events unfairly. While her complaint of violence made little headway, Sayf was quickly convicted for contempt of police.
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June

&
8220;Send me a patrol before I commit a crime!&
8221;

Salem, 56 years, Greater Tunis

Salem, a 56-year-old civil servant of the Ministry of Justice, had an altercation with a security guard at a public administration where he had come to complete an administrative procedure. As Salem was leaving the premises, a police officer who had just arrived became angry because Salem had not stopped immediately when he called for him. The policeman arrested him and beat him in the police vehicle and then at the station, where he also humiliated and insulted him. Salem was released when the chief of the police station became aware of his position. He then lodged a complaint. In 2023, when Salem went to find out what had happened to his complaint, he learned that he had been convicted in absentia of contempt of police following a complaint lodged by his assailant.
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2021 June

Videotaping police in flagranti

A minor at the age of 15 years, Tunis

As demonstrations erupted in the capital following an episode of police aggression, police intervened violently to disperse the protesters. Among them was a young boy of 15-years, who was grabbed by police officers in the street, forcefully undressed and kicked and beaten before being loaded into a police van. Videos of the scene caused a wave of outrage, forcing the Ministry of the Interior to react by suspending the perpetrators. A judicial investigation is ongoing and the outcome remains uncertain.
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May

Beaten-up for ending a relationship

Nejma*, 25 years old, Central West Tunisia

Nejma was engaged to a police officer, but the relationship turned sour and she decided to separate. That is when the nightmare began. Abusing the powers of his position as police officer, the ex-fiancé began to threaten and harass Nejma until eventually physically assaulting her with the complicit support of his colleagues.
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April

Tortured for refusing to bribe …

Oussama*, 34 years old, Tunis

In April 2021, Oussama was arrested in the street by police officers from his neighborhood, who had repeatedly robbed him and whom he had recently refused to pay. They beat him up in the street, then took him to the closest police station, where they continued to beat him up badly and threatened to falsely accuse him of drug trafficking. He was finally released after the arrival of the chief of the brigade, but only after promising not to file a complaint against the officers. Oussama is one of the many victims of ordinary police violence carried out by officers for punitive purposes.
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March

Neglected to death..

Abdesslam, 30 years old, Sfax

Abdesslam was arrested after curfew on the night of February 28, 2021. Being diabetic, his health deteriorated rapidly while in police custody. On March 2, he was remanded in Thyna prison. The next day, his condition was such that he had to be transferred to the hospital. He died on the way, because of repeated neglect. Abdesslam's case is one of 16 cases of suspicious deaths in detention documented by SANAD since 2014. Victims died in circumstances still unresolved during detention or as a result of contact with security forces.
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February

Ordinary violence …

Issam*, 26 years old, Tunis

One night in February 2021, while Issam was in front of his house, a security patrol stopped to check his papers. When he took out his identity card, he was surprised by punches on the head and eyes and kicks. He was sprayed with tear gas. The officers forced their way into his home and assaulted his elderly mother.
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January

Tortured to confess

Hafid*, 37 years old, Center-West of Tunisia

In January 2021, Hafid, an activist, was arrested at his home in the middle of the night without an arrest warrant. He was severely assaulted at the time of his arrest, and was later tortured at the police station and forced to sign statements accusing him of inciting protests, among other things. Like him, hundreds of young Tunisians were arrested in January in response to the wave of protests that hit the country. Many were beaten while arrested and held in police custody without the assistance of a lawyer, then remanded in custody and sentenced on the basis of falsified reports or for minor infractions.
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2020 December

Kidnapped and aggressed for defending the right to equality

Ahmed*, 28 years old, Tunis

On December 22, 2020, a group of plainclothes police officers kidnapped Ahmed, an activist of the association DAMJ, from a street in Tunis. The officers loaded him into their car and drove around the city. During the journey, they slapped him, punched him on the head, kicked him in the rib cage and kidneys and scratched his face. While beating him, the agents questioned him about the activities of DAMJ and the identity of other activists of the association. Then they threw him out of the car close to the military hospital.
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November

Police control turning into nightmare

Walid*, 26 years old, Zaghouan

In November 2020, Walid was walking down the street in the governorate of Zaghouan when he passed by a police patrol. The officers stopped him and tried to search his bag. Walid was afraid and tried to run away. The officers chased him. When they caught up with him, they beat and kicked him in front of passers-by. Walid was dragged a long distance to the police car. Near the car, the officers slapped him so hard that he fell on the ground. Then the officers took him to the police station.
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October

Violated and harassed for campaigning for human rights

Seif, 23 years old, Tunis

In October 2020, police arrested Seif, an activist from the civil society organization DAMJ following his participation in demonstrations against the draft law on the protection of security forces. He was arrested without any legal basis, taken into police custody and denied his right to a lawyer. At the police station, Seif was subjected to violence for nearly 3 hours by the security agents. This resulted in a broken shoulder and injuries to his eye and leg.
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September

Migrants arbitrarily detained in the center of Tunis

22 migrants – Center El Ouardia

In September 2020, the Ministry of the Interior released 22 migrants arbitrarily detained at the Center El Ouardia. They had spent months detained without any legal basis, in a place that was not officially a detention center. In June 2020, they appealed to the administrative court to contest their arbitrary detention. An innovative appeal that was successful even though the Ministry of the Interior was slow to release them. Despite this, since then, new migrants have been detained in El Ouardia and they too have been victims of the ill-treatment inherent to the arbitrary nature of their detention.
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August

Torture as punishment

Fouad, 34 years old – South-East of Tunisia

In August 2020, Fouad was assaulted in a prison where he had been held on remand for a few months already. The guards beat him and left him handcuffed at the door of the cell for the entire night. A few months earlier, he had already been tortured by several guards in the same prison after an argument with one of them. If the cases of torture in prison are less numerous than before the revolution, they have not totally disappeared and the victims' quest for justice is all the more perilous as they are still in the hands of their perpatrators.
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July

&
8220;Today I will make you remove that niqab! &
8220;

Amal, 30 years old, Great Tunis

In July 2020, Amal found the courage to take her case to the administrative court to denounce more than 10 years of police harassment due to her being registered “fichée”. Searches, street arrests, home visits, summonses to the police station and humiliating interrogations have made her life and that of her family a nightmare. Amal is one of the thousands of people "listed as S", who are subjected to arbitrary administrative control measures by the police, with dramatic psychological, social and economic consequences.
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End