Hamza Abidi

Summary

Hamza Abidi, a young man from Kasserine governorate, was arrested and prosecuted because of a Facebook post in which he expressed his opinion on the conditions his region is experiencing.

Personal Information

Name: Hamza Abidi

Nationality: Tunisian

Status: Civil activist

Charges

Using information and communication networks and systems to produce, promote, publish, transmit or prepare false news, statements or rumours.

Incidents of Violation

Hamza Abidi is a young man from the Kasserine region, a civil activist, former student activist and graduate of the Tunisian university. On 4 January 2023, Hamza was arrested and referred to the judiciary on a charge of using information and communication networks and systems to produce, promote, publish, transmit or prepare false news, statements or rumours, under Article 24 of Decree-Law No. 54 of 2022 of 13 September 2022 on combating offences relating to information and communication systems, and he was brought before the judiciary on Thursday 5 January 2023. This was because of a post on his personal Facebook page containing the slogan "To revolution, to the street once again, an ongoing revolution" as an expression and denunciation of the situation in the Kasserine region. Moreover, what Hamza wrote in the post does not amount to rumours or false news requiring that he be imprisoned and tried; rather, it falls under the right to freedom of expression.

Trials

After activist Hamza was arrested on 4 January 2023, he was brought before the judiciary the following day, 5 January 2023, for examination of the charges against him. The judge ordered that the charge against Hamza Abidi be dropped and that he be released.

Human Rights Violations

What young Hamza Abidi published is an exercise of his right to freedom of expression. Such malicious charges brought against activists and other young people because of their opinions amount to a violation of freedom of opinion and expression. Moreover, the legal basis for the referral, Article 24 of Decree-Law 54, represents a suppression of freedom of expression and an intimidation of activists aimed at silencing them and deterring them from engaging in issues of public concern and denouncing the social and economic conditions in their country. Prosecuting people for their opinions is also a clear violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides that "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers", as well as Article 37 of the 2022 Constitution: "Freedom of opinion, thought, expression, information and publication shall be guaranteed." This is not to mention the many violations contained in Decree-Law No. 54, which imposes unjust prison sentences and fines for a wide range of offences that the decree-law defines in a vague and overbroad manner, without taking into account the harm that may result. This explains the Tunisian State's trend towards further restricting freedom of expression and the system of rights and freedoms.

Sources

A telephone call with a friend of Hamza on 4 January 2022; examination of the post that is the subject of the prosecution; posts by a number of activists on social media.