Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Tunisia.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Tunisia. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Torture by Authorities are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring the moral justification for inflicting pain or
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in order to obtain critical
information that may save countless lives, or to elicit a confession for a
criminal act, or to punish someone to teach him a lesson outside of the
courtroom. Perhaps your paper might
focus on some of the methods of torture, like fear, extreme temperatures,
starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, suffocation, or immersion in freezing
water. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the people acting in an official capacity who
perpetrate such cruelty. There is a
lot to the subject of Torture by Authorities.
Scan other countries as well as this one. Draw comparisons between activity in
adjacent countries and/or regions.
Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Tunisia U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/tunisia/
[accessed 9 August
2021] TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT The National
Authority for the Prevention of Torture (INPT), an administratively
independent body established in 2013 to respond to allegations of torture and
mistreatment, issued its first report in June 2019 detailing reports of torture
and mistreatment during the 2016-17 period.
According to the report, the majority of the reported abuses took place
immediately following individuals’ arrests when the individual was in police
custody. The INPT reported that until January, there were a total of 22,445
prisoners and detainees. Of those individuals, the INPT claimed medical
records proved 22 were subject to physical violence or attempted rape while
in detention centers or while in transit to detention centers. ARREST PROCEDURES
AND TREATMENT OF DETAINEES Pretrial Detention:
The length of pretrial detention remained unpredictable and could last from
one month to several years, principally due to judicial inefficiency and lack
of capacity. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/tunisia/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 15 May
2020] F3. IS THERE
PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR
AND INSURGENCIES? The police force
faces long-standing complaints of officers abusing civilians and detainees
with impunity, and the police unions have resisted reform efforts aimed at
addressing the problem. Reports of the use of excessive force and torture by
security agents continued in 2019. Tunisia: organisations warn of systematic torture in prisons and
detention centres Middle East Monitor,
MEMO, 9 May 2019 [accessed 10 May
2019] Tunisian and
international organisations warned, on Wednesday,
of the ongoing phenomenon of torture in prisons and detention centres in the country, calling on the Tunisian
government to take the necessary measures to reduce such an event. In a press
statement on the sidelines of the conference, the president of the Tunisian
Human Rights League, Jamal Musallam, called the authorities for “a serious
stand against the humiliating and inhumane practices that prisoners and
detainees are subjected to.” For his part, Ossama Bouajila, a member of
the OMCT, equally said in press statements: “Today we are facing repressive
and abusive practices, making the use of torture in prisons and detention centres a rampant phenomenon that targets especially
young people between the ages of 18 and 35.” Tunisian
International organisation: 300 torture cases in
Tunisia since 2013 without conviction Middle East Monitor
MEMO, 27 April 2018 [accessed 27 April
2018] The deputy head of
the organisation, Mukhtar Al-Tarifi,
asserted in a news conference in Tunis on Thursday that “300 cases of torture
have been pending in Tunisia since September 2013; however, there have been
no convictions that condemn the involved security officers.” He added that “the
commitments taken by the Tunisian State to prosecute the perpetrators of
these crimes are inconsistent with what happens in many cases of torture,
where the government does not provide redress for victims.” He pointed to “the
excessive influence of the security services on the judiciary,” and called
“judges to assume their responsibility.” At the same
conference, the deputy head of the organisation
presented the case of a Tunisian citizen named Ahmed bin Abda
“tortured” by security officers, which caused the loss of his right eye and
severe damage to the skull, face and nose in 2013. Mukhtar Al-Tarifi insisted that although the damage to Ahmed bin Abda was confirmed and he was subjected to medical tests
which proved that he was tortured, the defendants were not convicted. Torture
in Tunisia and the return of the conditions for a revolution Mohammad Hunaid, Middle
East Monitor, 26 April 2016 [accessed 18 August
2016] In a report that is
scheduled for presentation to the UN Committee Against Torture this month,
Amnesty International offered an embarrassing description of the
post-revolution human rights situation in Tunisia. The organisation
also pointed out that the brutal methods of dealing with prisoners and
detainees, considered a deeply rooted tradition followed by tyrannical
regimes when dealing with the Arab masses, have returned. The report
monitored two main factors. First, the increased physical and moral violations
exercised by the security forces against citizens. These violations reach the
level of physical torture, rape, threats of rape and resorting to a number of
brutal torture methods with detainees, such as beatings, simulated drowning,
and other exercises we have seen by the cowboy army in Abu Ghraib Prison in
Iraq. Tunisia's
torture victims hope for justice at hearings Eric Reidy, Al
Jazeera, Tunis, 27 Jun 2015 en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/tunisias-torture-victims-hope-justice-hearings-064205067.html [accessed 25 Aug
2015] www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2015/06/tunisia-torture-victims-hope-justice-hearings-150623084544691.html [accessed 8 August
2017] In 1991,
16-year-old Selwa Bejawi
was arrested because her brother was a leader in the then-banned Tunisian
Islamist movement Ennahda. Bejawi said she was taken
from her high school to the interior ministry in downtown Tunis. Once there,
she was forced to take off her headscarf and clothes and walk naked in front
of a room full of security officers. "The least thing we went through was sexual harassment,"
she told Al Jazeera. "We went through the same torture as men." "We used to be
hung and beaten," she continued, tears welling in her eyes. "The
hardest part of prison was the first two weeks, when we went through
questioning and torture." She said the
Tunisian government arrested her to try to put pressure on her brother, who
was on the run at the time. Human
Rights Watch World Report 2015 - Events of 2014 Human Rights Watch,
29 January 2015 www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/...
or
www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2015_web.pdf [accessed 18 March
2015] TUNISIA TORTURE AND
ILL-TREATMENT
- Torture and other ill-treatment reportedly remained common in detention
facilities and prisons, despite the NCA’s adoption on October 9, 2013, of a
law to create a National Authority for the Prevention of Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. A year later, however,
the NCA had yet to vote on the appointment of the National Authority’s
members. Following his
second visit to Tunisia since the revolution, in June the special rapporteur
on torture, Juan Mendez, said that the eradication of torture in Tunisia
required both political will and institutional, legal, and cultural reforms
to strengthen safeguards against torture and to rebuild citizens’ trust in
the judicial and security apparatus. Slow justice for
Tunisia's torture victims Akim Rezgui
for AFP, Tunis, 23 October 2014 www.ucanews.com/news/slow-justice-for-tunisias-torture-victims/72240 [accessed 26
November 2014] Denguir, 34, who earned a
living operating a merry-go-round with his father, was detained last November
on suspicion of a drug-related offence. "They told me
that they had taken him in at around 4pm. Before 5pm I got word that my son
had been arrested and afterwards someone called to tell me he was dead,"
his mother Faouzia Zorgui
said. "In the space
of 45 minutes, they tore him to pieces," she told AFP as she wiped the
white headstone marking her son's grave in Tunis which she visits every week. The autopsy report
concluded that Denguir had been beaten with a
"blunt object" but did not establish a cause of death. Marzouki Offers 'Apologies
of State' to Torture Victims Tunis Afrique Presse, Carthage, 8 May
2014 allafrica.com/stories/201405091273.html [accessed 12 May
2014] Caretaker President
Moncef Marzouki offered,
on Thursday, the "apologies of the Tunisian State" to the victims
of torture over the last 50 years as well as to their families. Chairing in
Carthage a ceremony on National Day against Torture, Marzouki
urged civil society to show vigilance so that the State finds no
justifications for practices detrimental to human dignity. "Rest assured
that the State will stand up against torture and rehabilitate victims,"
he stressed. Such atrocities will see no repeat, he added. "The
protection of the physical integrity of citizens and their security are a top
priority for the State," he also highlighted. "Fight against
torture is not an occasional undertaking but rather an everyday struggle
which calls for adequate societal mechanisms," the Caretaker President
pointed out. Corruption and
torture are widespread in all political regimes, he indicated. Laws cannot on
their own stamp out torture; a mental changeover is highly needed along with
a strong civil society, Marzouki said. Tunisia: Landmark
Opportunity to Combat Torture Human Rights Watch,
Tunis, 14 October 2013 www.hrw.org/news/2013/10/14/tunisia-landmark-opportunity-combat-torture [accessed 14 Oct
2013] Tunisia’s National
Constituent Assembly on October 9, 2013, adopted a law to create a National
Authority for the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment. Aplenary session of the
legislative assembly will elect 16 experts to the new authority from a
preselected list. These experts will have the authority to visit any site
where people are deprived of their liberty to document torture and
ill-treatment, to request criminal and administrative investigations, and to
issue recommendations for measures to eradicate torture and ill-treatment. “The creation of
this new body is an unprecedented opportunity to address Tunisia’s legacy of
torture and ill-treatment,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North
Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Conclusions and
recommendations of the Committee against Torture U.N. Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment -- Doc. A/54/44, paras.
88-105 (1998) www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cat/observations/tunisia1998.html [accessed 10 March
2013] 4. Subjects of
concern 95. The Committee
reiterates its views that the definition of torture under Tunisian law is not
in conformity with article 1 of the Convention, as the Tunisian Criminal
Code, inter alia, uses the term "violence" instead of torture and
article 101 of the Criminal Code penalizes the use of violence only when it
is used without just cause. 96. The Committee
is concerned over the wide gap that exists between law and practice with
regard to the protection of human rights. The Committee is particularly
disturbed by the reported widespread practice of torture and other cruel and
degrading treatment perpetrated by security forces and the police, which, in
certain cases, resulted in death in custody. Furthermore, it is concerned
over the pressure and intimidation used by officials to prevent the victims
from lodging complaints. 97. The Committee
is concerned that many of the regulations existing in Tunisia for arrested
persons are not adhered to in practice, in particular: (a) The limitation of
pretrial detention to the 10day maximum prescribed by law; (b) The immediate
notification of family members; (c) The requirement
of medical examination with regard to allegations of torture; (d) The carrying out
of autopsies in all cases of death in custody. 100. The Committee
feels that, by constantly denying these allegations, the authorities are in
fact granting those responsible for torture immunity from punishment, thus
encouraging the continuation of these abhorrent practices. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL From an old article -- URL not available Article was
published sometime prior to 2015 The authorities
restricted freedom of expression and prosecuted several people using
repressive laws enacted under the previous government. There were new reports
of torture and other ill-treatment by police, who also used excessive force
against demonstrators. TORTURE AND OTHER
ILL-TREATMENT
- There were reports of torture and other ill-treatment by police. In August the
Ministry of Human Rights and Transitional Justice said that, following a
public consultation, it planned to establish a new independent national
institution to combat torture. The proposed body would be empowered to visit
places of detention and help draft new legislation, and would report annually
and operate in line with international standards. Abderraouf Khemmassi died on 8 September in police custody in Tunis,
11 days after his arrest for alleged theft. An autopsy attributed his death
to a blow to the head and recorded other injuries. Four police officers were
subsequently arrested and charged with causing his death. Search … AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL For more
articles:: Search Amnesty
International’s website www.amnesty.org/en/search/?q=tunisia+torture&ref=&year=&lang=en&adv=1&sort=relevance [accessed 15 January 2019] Scroll
Down ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Freedom House Country
Report - Political Rights: 7 Civil Liberties: 5 Status: Not Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/tunisia [accessed 14
February 2013] LONG
URL ç 2009 Country Reports begin on Page 21 [accessed 13 May
2020] The Tunisian
judiciary lacks independence and regularly issues convictions in politically motivated
cases. In 2008, the practice of detaining political activists continued
unabated. Credible local and international sources report that detainees are
routinely tortured in prison and in police custody. Human Rights Reports
» 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006 www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61700.htm [accessed 14
February 2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61700.htm [accessed 7 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – The law
prohibits such practices; however, security forces reportedly tortured detainees
to elicit confessions and discourage resistance. The forms of torture and
other abuse included: electric shock; submersion of the head in water;
beatings with hands, sticks, and police batons; suspension, sometimes
manacled, from cell doors and rods resulting in loss of consciousness; and
cigarette burns. According to AI, police and prison officials used sexual
assault and threats of sexual assault against the wives of Islamist prisoners
to extract information, to intimidate, and to punish. Charges of torture
in specific cases were difficult to prove because authorities often denied
the victims of torture access to medical care until evidence of abuse
disappeared. The government maintained that it investigated all complaints of
torture and mistreatment filed with the prosecutor's office, and noted that
alleged victims sometimes accused police of torture without filing a
complaint, which is a prerequisite for an investigation. According to defense
attorneys, local human rights groups, and AI, police routinely refused to
register complaints of torture. In addition, judges dismissed complaints
without investigation and accepted as evidence confessions extracted through
torture. The government may open an administrative investigation of
allegations of torture or mistreatment of prisoners without a formal
complaint; however, it was unlikely in those cases to make the results public
or available to the lawyers of affected prisoners. Consistent with an
effort to extract information or coerce confessions, more reports of torture
came from pretrial detention centers than prisons. Human rights activists,
citing prisoner accounts, identified facilities at the Ministry of Interior
as the most common location for torture. Political prisoners and Islamists
allegedly received harsher treatment than criminals. Several domestic
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including the National Council for
Freedoms in Tunisia (CNLT) and the Association for the Fight Against Torture
in Tunisia (ALTT), reported on multiple torture cases throughout the year.
For example, on June 25, according to CNLT, 25-year-old Zied
Ghodhbane appeared in court in a state of physical
and psychological distress, bearing marks of abuse on his body. He reportedly
testified that officials at the Ministry of Interior tortured him by
beatings, electrocution, and holding his head under water in detention
facilities at the interior ministry after his extradition from Algeria to the
country. Defense lawyers for the accused requested that the judge recommend a
medical examination, but the judge reportedly ruled that such a request
should come from the general prosecutor. In April
authorities sentenced the "Bizerte Group," 11 defendants arrested
in 2004 and charged with various terrorism-related crimes, to prison terms
ranging from 10 to 30 years. On July 2, the court acquitted five of the
defendants, while the remaining six received sentence reductions. The
Committee of the Defense of Victims of the Law on Terrorism released multiple
communiqués charging that authorities gathered confessions from the group
using torture (see section 1.e.). Authorities did not
charge any police or security force official with abuse during the year. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this
webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance
& Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st Century- Tunisia
", http://gvnet.com/torture/Tunisia.htm, [accessed <date>] |
