Summary: 

Following a violent arrest alongside his minor daughter, Montassar Abdelwahed dies in prison under suspicious circumstances.

Personal Information:

Name: Montassar Abdelwahed

Nationality: Tunisian

Violation Incidents:

Montassar, a middle-aged man married with four children, was arrested on July 15, 2025, when police officers searched him on the street, and they were unable to find anything. 

However, they discovered that he was wanted, he told them he had a clearance, yet they insisted on going with him to search his home, according to his wife.

She also added that the police officers were in plain clothes with nothing identifying them as law enforcement.

Upon their arrival at his home, they couldn’t find anything, so he was taken to his mother’s house to search it as well, and once again, they were unable to find anything. As well as they did not present any judicial warrant authorizing the search, and accused him of owning another house, he replied that his income would not allow it, as he works in a coffee shop and his wife works in a restaurant.

Following that, several police officers on motorcycles arrived, and upon escorting him from his house, one of his daughters, aged 14, tried calling one of their family members to inform them of the situation however, one of the police officers snatched the phone and hit her on the face. Seeing what happened to his daughter, Montassar grew angry, and officers beat him and hurled insults at him and his children.

They forced him onto the police motorcycle and escorted him to Bouchoucha.

On that day, his wife was not in the house, and when the children told her about what had happened, she insisted on following him, but they prevented her from seeing him. 

On July 16, 2025, he appeared before the court in Bab Bnet, where he was charged with offenses related to drunkenness, disturbance, and offending public morals, even though his wife confirmed that her husband does not drink alcohol.

On the day following that, his wife submitted a request to visit him, but was ultimately refused and told to apply the request at the district court on Friday.

On Sunday, July 20, 2025, one of the neighbors told the wife that Montassar’s health condition is serious, and she must immediately visit him, not mentioning that he had passed away.

Upon her arrival at the hospital, a security officer asked her, “Your husband had a heart problem, why didn’t you inform us ?” However, she insisted that she knew his health condition very well, and that he’s in a healthy situation. She also added that he went through medical tests during Ramadan 2025, and the results were healthy.

During the preparation of the body for burial, a resident of the neighborhood published a video online describing the incident. He was later detained, and Montassar’s wife was asked to testify against him, claiming that he was spreading false information, however, she refused, and he was eventually released.

Several days afterwards, a fellow inmate from Motassar’s jail was released and told the wife that he had witnessed what happened to him. He stated that when visiting the doctor in prison, Montassar asked for a painkiller but was refused, he had a panic attack, and was then beaten by several officers before collapsing and never returning to his cell.

His wife also added that the man who reported this incident was later returned to prison, and that she has faced ongoing pressure because of her statements.

Human Rights Violations:

What Montassar has faced constitutes an example of a series of serious and multiple human rights violations, impacting his freedom, personal safety, and physical and mental health, as well as the rights of his family to live a safe and secure life.

He was arrested on July 15, 2025 on the street without any legal justification, where police officers searched him and found nothing unlawful, Despite Montassar presenting proof that he was not subject to an official search, the officers insisted on accompanying him to his home and then to his mother’s house for a search, without showing any judicial authorization. These actions violated Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which prohibits arbitrary arrest or detention, Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees everyone the right to liberty and security, and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom and security. 

These practices also contravene Article 29 of the 2022 Tunisian Constitution, which protects personal freedom and criminalizes arbitrary detention.

These violations went beyond arbitrary detention, encompassing cruel and degrading treatment and indications of possible torture against Montassar. In fact, Montassar was subjected to extreme violence and insults according to testimonies. These practices represent a violation of the right to protection from torture and from degrading treatment, as outlined in Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 7 of the International Covenant and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture, and Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which all prohibit these actions.

The violations were not only limited to Montassar alone, but they also extended to his wife, affecting her freedom of expression and personal security. She was subjected to pressure for speaking about her husband’s case, and a prison sentence was issued against her over an old dispute, violating Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 of the ICCPR, Article 9 of the African Charter, and Tunisia’s obligations under the CEDAW.

Montassar’s death is not an isolated case but part of a pattern of violations, highlighting the need for serious investigations into suspicious deaths, genuine accountability, and urgent reforms to protect dignity and health.