HRW denounces detainment of human rights activist ahead of Tunisia election News
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HRW denounces detainment of human rights activist ahead of Tunisia election

HRW denounced the pre-trial detainment of prominent activist and former president of the Truth and Dignity Commission, Sihem Bensedrine, in a press release on Monday calling for her immediate release.

Bensedrine was detained in Manouba prison by order of an investigative judge on August 1, 2024, for her work as president of the Commission. Her request for release has been rejected.

The press release cites Deputy Middle East and North Africa director Bassam Khawaja who commented on the matter stating that, “[t]his is a clear case of retaliation, and authorities should immediately release Bensedrine, drop the charges, and stop targeting human rights defenders.” According to Khawaja, “[a]fter undermining Tunisia’s transitional justice process for years, President Saied’s government strikes the final blow by detaining Sihem Bensedrine”.

Bensedrine’s entanglement with the judicial system began in May 2020 when a former commission member filed a complaint that she had falsified the Commission’s final report on alleged corruption within the Franco-Tunisian Bank. Nearly three years later, an official investigation was launched in February 2023 and followed up by a travel ban in March 2024. Bensedrine has been formally charged with “using her position to gain unfair advantage for herself or a third party, fraud, and forgery”.

The Truth and Dignity Commission was created in 2013 as Tunisia’s official truth-seeking body to investigate historic abuses and propose measures for redress, taking vigor from the overthrow of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

In the course of her activism, Bensedrine faced imprisonment under different governments for denouncing human rights abuses. HRW describes the activist’s most recent arrest as a “blow to transitional justice in Tunisia” and a contravention of the ICCPR, which acknowledges pre-trial detention only after a proper individualized determination. Amnesty International has likewise described the charges levied against Bensedrine as a “misuse of the criminal justice system”.

HRW alleges that Bensedrine’s detainment is yet another collateral example of President Saied’s strategy to weaken judicial independence and meet his political ends. With President Saied vying for a second term in the upcoming presidential election on October 6, Bensedrine’s detainment marks a concerning trend of repression highlighted by activists in recent weeks.

 

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