Abderrahmen Ben Said

Summary

Abderrahman Ben Said is a young Tunisian man who works as a vegetables and fruit vendor. He has been accused of insulting a public official and is sentenced to 6 months in prison for posting a video in which he complains about police provocation.

Personal Information

Name: Abderrahmen Ben Said

Nationality: Tunisian

Age: 30

Occupation: Vegetables and Fruit Vendor

Charges: Insulting a public official while performing their official duties

Incidents of Violation

Abderrahman is a young Tunisian man, originally from Bizert Delegation, and works as a vegetable and fruit vendor.  Last March 30th, he posted a video on his personal page addressing the daily harassment he faces at work and complaining about the police officers in the region, who, according to him, frequent his workplace to harass him and seize his goods without any legal justification. After the video went viral on social media, the police arrested Abderrahman on June 5, 2023, where he remained in detention for 12 days. On June 15, he was brought before the judiciary to look into the case, and he was charged with insulting a public official while performing their official duty under Article 125 of the Penal Code. He was initially sentenced to 6 months in prison because of the video he posted.

Human Rights Violations

What Abderrahman Ben Said did by recording the video and posting it on social media falls under his right to freedom of expression, protected by local and international conventions. His imprisonment for expressing his opinion and criticizing the harassment and provocations he faced from the police is not but a flagrant violation of his rights. Moreover, relying on Article 125 of the Penal Code in order to imprison young individuals is nothing but a policy used by police forces to legalize violence against youth and hold them accountable. It is due to the term “insulting a public official”  within this article, as it carries various interpretations and a broad, vague definition. Additionally, Tunisian law lacks a clear definition of the term “insulting” according to Article 125 of the Penal Code, which enables security authorities to employ it in many cases, particularly those involving issues of freedom of expression in which police officers are criticized. Besides, the broad interpretation and enforcement of this article on any individual, regardless of their actions, is a severe violation of Human Rights.

Sources

Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms documented the case of the young man Abderrahman Ben Said after communicating with his family and examining the footage he posted on his personal Facebook page.