Tunisian Prisons: Lawless Zones

The situation is critical inside Tunisian prison establishments, according to a report published by the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) on May 17. Behind prison walls, a little known reality: overcrowding, arbitrary detention, inhumane conditions, mistreatment of minority groups and institutionalized violence.

The report presents a thorough assessment of actions led by different intervention teams and work groups tasked with monitoring human rights in detention sites in Tunisia between 2022 and 2025. It is based on observations made during multiple visits to the country’s prison establishments. Its conclusions are indisputable: Tunisia’s penitentiary system is in a critical state, undermined by serious structural defects and a number of fundamental rights violations.

In fact, nearly all Tunisian prisons suffer from general disrepair. Infrastructure is outdated, often poorly maintained and non-compliant with requirements relating to security, dignity and respect for international standards. According to the LTDH, in eight different establishments, the surface area allotted to each prisoner is no greater than two square meters, whereas international standards recommend a minimum of four square meters per person.

Another major issue: 80% of prison establishments have no classification system for prisoners. This absence translates into dangerous cohabitation among detainees who have yet to receive a sentence and those who have been convicted, first-time offenders and hardened criminals, considerably increasing internal tensions and violence.

Excessive recourse to preventative detention exacerbates overcrowding in prisons. In 2022, more than 55% of incarcerated individuals were in provisional detention without a definitive ruling. Prisons such as Mornaguia, Sfax and Manouba report occupancy rates at 150% above their capacity, making any humane or secure management nearly impossible.

And putting people behind bars has only become easier. Interviewed by Nawaat, member of the LTDH executive bureau Chadi Trifi denounces the normalization of prison sentences by magistrates, particularly since the judicial vacancies this year.

“Public prosecutors tend to send the accused to prison without a thorough examination of their cases. In reality, they don’t know what it means to put someone behind bars in a Tunisian prison,” Trifi states with indignation.

The result: the rate of overcrowding in prisons rose from 170% to 300% over the summer.

Violation of human dignity

This overpopulation renders the implementation of rehabilitation activities impossible, feeds tensions and accelerates the spread of illness. Many prisoners sleep on the ground or are forced to share a bed in squalid conditions. This imposed lack of privacy, along with the absence of separation by criminal status, spurs violence and compromises any prospect of reinsertion into society.

Hygiene in prison establishments is severely lacking. Prisoners often lack basic products for personal care. Toilets and showers are insufficient for the number of prisoners, and access to care is minimal. The right to a daily walk, enshrined in Tunisian legislation, is not always respected, limiting prisoners’ physical activity and psychological well-being.

In terms of health: the presence of general practitioners in some prisons is inadequate to address the spectrum of pathologies. The lack of specialists, especially psychiatrists, the irregularity of medical care, the poor condition of internal care units and the poor coordination of transfers to external hospitals leave a number of prisoners without adequate care.

Another issue: food. Meals served in prisons are lacking in nutritional value, variation and, oftentimes, quantity. Tensions relating to food access create conflicts, especially since some prisoners depend upon assistance from their families to complement their meals.

Vulnerable groups, forgotten by the system

Women, children, handicapped persons, migrants, and LGBTQI+ persons are among the most affected by the defects of Tunisia’s prison system.

The situation faced by prisoners who suffer from mental illness reveals the magnitude of the system’s flaws. Although national and international legal texts forbid the incarceration of individuals declared not criminally responsible, the latter remain in prison due to a lack of available space in specialized institutions.

The LTDH surveys dozens of judicial decisions regarding the transfer of prisoners to psychiatric hospitals that were never executed. The result: these vulnerable individuals remain in conditions unsuited to their health, and are often exposed to abuse.

Prisoners with a physical handicap are often placed in ill-adapted cells without specialized equipment or personnel trained to respond to their specific needs.

Women, who constitute about 4-5% of the prison population, are also confronted with startlingly inadequate infrastructure adapted to their needs. Also lacking is specific medical care, notably gynecology.

Pregnant or nursing women, or those accompanied by children under the age of three, do not enjoy the benefit of decent living conditions. Some endure sexual abuse, especially at the time of arrest or during interrogations.

LGBTQI+ individuals fall victim to stigmatization and physical or psychological violence. Their gender identity and/or sexual orientation is sometimes publicly revealed, exposing these prisoners to humiliation or aggression. The absence of specific protection policies exacerbates their marginalization.

Imprisoned migrants face a similarly alarming situation. In 2024, some 300 migrants—the majority from sub-Saharan Africa—were detained in Tunisian prisons, often for immigration-related violations. Migrant prisoners face prolonged detention without a fair trial, in overcrowded centers and without the minimal legal safeguards. National and international NGOs have denounced a number of repeated violations against this group.

Institutional violence: uninhibited punitive system

In addition to characterizing physical conditions, the LTDH report sheds light on a series of humiliating, even violent, practices committed by prison authorities.

Entering prison is often a traumatizing experience. A systematic practice, the body search is sometimes conducted without respect for prisoners’ privacy. This is especially true for women, who are forced to fully undress in front of several prison agents. In some cases, this process is accompanied by acts of physical violence, reinforcing a sense of dehumanization from the very first moments of incarceration.

Beyond this, prisoners tend to lack information about their basic rights. Many are unaware of the legal recourse available to them, the exact duration of their detention or means of communication with family members.

Another concerning practice is collective punishment. In some cases, when an incident arises, all of the prisoners in a zone or wing of the prison establishment are punished—with the suspension of visits or right to a walk, or by the blockage of packages—while those responsible for the incident remain unidentified. This practice flies in the face of the principle of individual responsibility.

The climate of institutional violence, lack of care and negligence can have fatal consequences to bear. Between 2018 and 2023, more than 130 deaths were recorded in Tunisian prison establishments, according to reports by the LTDH, the National Authority for Torture Prevention and the Tunisian Observatory for an Independent Justice. Among these cases, 16 were characterized as “suspicious deaths” which took place in unclear circumstances and without the completion of a thorough investigation until the end of 2023.

Causes evoked include torture, mistreatment, refusal of medical treatment or deliberate negligence. Authorities’ lack of transparency regarding these deaths reinforces mistrust and outrage among human rights organizations.

Expressing this outrage has become an act of resistance. Under the current regime, daring to criticize the condition of Tunisia’s prisons is a red line not to be crossed. The legal attack upon lawyer and commentator Sonia Dahmani which has been waged by the General Direction of Prisons and Rehabilitation reflects the merciless repression of those who dare to denounce the inhumane conditions imposed upon prisoners.