TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS UNJUSTLY JAILED

Tunisia UA 52.23

On November 28, the Tunis Court of Appeal upheld the convictions and prison sentences of 34 defendants ranging from five to 45 years in the politically motivated “conspiracy case”. Authorities swiftly implemented the court’s unjust verdict against two of those sentenced who were not already in detention. On November 29, plainclothes police officers violently arrested political activist Chaima Issa while she was at a peaceful demonstration in Tunis denouncing the crackdown on peaceful dissent in the country. Three days later, on December 2, police officers arrested human rights lawyer Ayachi Hammami from his home in Tunis. On December 4, police arrested prominent opposition figure Ahmed Nejib Chebbi from his home.

Call on the Tunisian President to immediately quash the unjust convictions and sentences of all defendants in the unjust “conspiracy case” and immediately and unconditionally release all those detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights - send your email using our email-writing tool.

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The President of Tunisia

Kais

Saied

The President of Tunisia

Your Excellency,

I am gravely concerned over the arbitrary arrest and detention of political activist Chaima Issa, human rights lawyer Ayachi Hammami, and prominent opposition figure Ahmed Nejib Chebbi. They were arrested following the decision by the Tunis Court of Appeal to uphold the unjust convictions in the so-called “conspiracy case” against 34 defendants. Chaima Issa and Ayachi Hammami announced hunger strikes to protest their arbitrary arrest and detention.

Among the 34 individuals sentenced in this trial, six opposition political figures – Khayyam Turki (sentenced to 35 years) Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, Issam Chebbi, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ridha Belhaj (20 years) and Abdelhamid Jelassi (10 years) have been held in arbitrary detention since the investigation began. Other defendants in this case include individuals who had been sentenced or held in pretrial detention in relation to other politically motivated cases, such as senior opposition figures Noureddine Bhiri (20 years), Sahbi Atig (10 years), and Said Ferjani (10 years) from the former ruling Ennahdha party. The court also sentenced in absentia 20 individuals living abroad, including prominent human rights defender Bochra Bel Haj Hmida, who was sentenced to 33 years.

I urge you and your government to quash the unjust convictions and sentences of all defendants and to immediately and unconditionally release those who are detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights. Finally, I urge you and your government to cease the politically motivated prosecutions of critics, political opponents, human rights defenders and activists.

Yours sincerely,

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