Torture 25

Documentary short film : « Black winter », a lookback at repression in 2021

On the 10th anniversary of the revolution, Tunisia witnessed what has become a usual spike in the number of protests carried out across the country especially during January. What distinguished 2021 from the rest was the diversity of backgrounds and motivations that propelled demonstrations. Among hundreds of Tunisians detained, many were minors; there were illegal night raids, arbitrary arrests, investigative reports that failed to respect detainee’s most basic rights; the suspicious death of a man in his thirties following his arbitrary arrest; another young man was tortured, one of his testicals removed. Neither the perpetrators nor those in power were held accountable for these repressive practices.

Truth Commission Public Hearings: Kamel Matmati and Tunisia’s disappeared

Last Thursday, November 17, Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission held the country’s first public hearings with victims of human rights violations carried out under the Bourguiba and Ben Ali regimes. Torture victims—including former political prisoners Sami Brahem and Gilbert Naccache—as well as the families of the disappeared and martyrs of the revolution testified on national television.

Tunisia’s State Security Apparatus: an unofficial narrative

The National Museum of the State Security System is one of several artistic works that Egyptian playwright-director Laila Soliman and Belgian actor-director Ruud Gielens have created together. The artists were approached by the organizers of Dream City to create a project for the fifth edition of the event (November 4-8). Soliman shared some time with Nawaat to talk about the creative process behind their creation, a glimpse into the unofficial narrative of the state security apparatus that operated under the Ben Ali regime.

Torture in Tunisia: Abdelmajid Jdey, Another Death in Police Custody

Abdelmajid Jdey was being held in preventative detention Sidi Bouzid when, on 13 May, the Ministry of the Interior announced his death; according to the statement, Jdey hung himself in his cell. In the weeks that have followed, civil society activists and organizations including Human Rights Watch and the Tunisian Organization Against Torture (OCTT) have contested the Ministry’s announcement. Notably, the victim had filed a complaint of torture to OCTT several days prior to his death.

Can Police Torture be History in Tunisia?

The Tunisian Network for a Successful society (TUNESS) – www.tuness.org – has organized with the kind support of Columbia Society of International Law (CSIL) a round table discussion on the topic of police torture in Tunisia on Saturday December 1st, 2012 at Columbia University. Three distinguished guest speakers participated in this event.

Tunisia: Hold Police Accountable for Shootings

The transitional government of Tunisia should make it an urgent priority to investigate the killings of demonstrators by Tunisian security forces in early January 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces used excessive force in suppressing demonstrations in the central western cities of Kasserine and Tala, Human Rights Watch said, killing at least 21 people with live ammunition in these two cities alone between January 8 and 12, Human Rights Watch found.

Torture en Tunisie : Un ancien ministre s’exprime sur El Hiwar Ettounsi

Pour résumer, en utilisant la formule consacrée, cet ancien ministre était «responsable mais pas coupable» quant à la pratique de la torture sur les citoyens tunisiens dans les locaux de l’administration tunisienne. L’entretien est une reprise diffusée le 17 février 2008, où l’on retrouve un TBH assez offensif avec sa manière si particulière dans le paysage médiatique tunisien d’être «cordialement direct».