Set to Begin Tuesday: Families of Tunisian Political Prisoners Fear Unfair Trial
Families of Tunisia’s political detainees decry unfair trials and worsening prison conditions, accusing the government of fabricating charges to suppress opposition.
Watan-Families of political detainees in Tunisia, who have been imprisoned for two years on charges of “conspiring against state security,” are living in a state of anticipation and anxiety as their first actual trial begins tomorrow, Tuesday. Their distress is compounded by the worsening health conditions of their loved ones inside prison.
Their families continue to demand their release, arguing that the charges against them are “baseless” and claiming that the authorities are using this case to “eliminate” opponents of President Kais Saied.
On Sunday evening, the families of the political detainees gathered at the headquarters of the opposition Republican Party in Tunis, where they spoke about their suffering and expressed their rejection of the court’s decision to hold their trial remotely. The Tunis Primary Court had ruled that the detainees would not be physically present in court.
Harsh Conditions
Amid this ordeal, Monia Ibrahim, a former parliamentarian and the wife of detainee Abdelhamid Jelassi, is struggling with severe psychological distress. She lives alone, burdened by worry and fear, especially after her husband’s health deteriorated following the return of his cancer while in prison.
Reflecting on her husband’s journey, she recalls how he spent more than 17 years in the prisons of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali “because of his opposition to tyranny.” With a voice heavy with sorrow, she says, “Today, he finds himself behind bars again in Kais Saied’s prisons for the same reason.”
She told Al Jazeera Net that Jelassi is enduring harsh prison conditions, facing extreme cold in the winter and suffocating heat in the summer, with inadequate healthcare and poor nutrition. She holds the authorities responsible for putting his life at risk, especially after his cancer returned, threatening his survival.
With the first actual trial session for the political detainees set for the fourth day of Ramadan, Monia Ibrahim says these are heavy days, especially after the court’s decision to conduct the trial remotely. She views this as “an attempt to isolate the detainees from public opinion and prevent them from revealing the truth to the people.”
She asserts that the case against them is politically motivated, designed to punish them for attempting to unite the opposition against President Saied’s efforts to establish an authoritarian rule following his actions on July 25, 2021.
Crackdown on the Opposition
Azzedine Hazgui, the father of detainee Jawhar Ben Mubarak, a leader in the opposition coalition “National Salvation Front,” which opposes what it calls President Saied’s coup against the constitution, also believes that the “conspiracy” case is merely a pretext to settle political scores with the opposition.
Hazgui is one of Tunisia’s most prominent leftist activists and was imprisoned for several years under former presidents Habib Bourguiba and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali due to his political activities. He even once ran for president against Ben Ali.
With deep frustration, he told Al Jazeera Net, “I never imagined Tunisia would return to tyranny after the revolution. We thought dictatorship ended in 2011, but it seems our dreams were shattered when Kais Saied came to power.”
Hazgui pointed out that the investigating judge from the judicial unit for counterterrorism, who issued the final investigative report on the “conspiracy” case, has fled the country. He claimed that the report lacks any evidence supporting the authorities’ claims that the detainees were conspiring against state security.
The opposition accuses the authorities of fabricating the case based on testimonies from informants, one of whom is in prison, arguing that the file contains no credible intelligence or military evidence. They believe the government opted for a remote trial to avoid exposing its “false accusations.”
According to Hazgui, the case file consists only of public communications between political activists with decades of peaceful political engagement, who sought to unify the opposition. “This terrified the regime, which then fabricated charges and arrested its opponents,” he said.
Regarding possible verdicts, Hazgui said, “Anything is possible, but this injustice will not deter us. This is about defending democracy. We will continue our struggle no matter the cost because we believe change is possible and that injustice will not last forever.”
Covering Up Failure
Meanwhile, Abdelaziz Chebbi expressed his pain over the absence of his father, Issam Chebbi, Secretary-General of the Republican Party, who is among the detainees. He noted that the suffering of separation extends beyond Ramadan and affects every aspect of their daily lives, leaving a deep void in their family.
Speaking about the “conspiracy” charges against his father, Abdelaziz told Al Jazeera Net that the case is merely an attempt to distract from the government’s failure to manage Tunisia’s economic and social crises, such as shortages of essential goods, rising unemployment, and inflation.
He referred to a message his father sent from Mornaguia Prison in Tunis, in which he stated that the charges against him and the other detainees were politically motivated, part of a broader campaign to eliminate political pluralism and suppress public and individual freedoms.
In his message, Issam Chebbi said, “The authorities are targeting their political, human rights, and media opponents with an unprecedented wave of trials and arrests, completely disregarding the basic principles of fair trials and an independent judiciary.”
Commenting on the decision to hold the trial remotely, Abdelaziz said it “exposes the regime’s fear of facing the detainees and their lawyers directly” and reveals its efforts to “hide the truth from public opinion.”