Kais Nsiri
Teacher of French
Summary
Kais Nsiri, a teacher of French in the town of Sbeitla, Kasserine governorate, was arrested and held in police custody because of Facebook posts critical of the political situation in Tunisia.
Personal Information
Name: Kais Nsiri
Nationality: Tunisian
Status: Teacher of French
Incidents of Violation
Kais Nsiri is a secondary-school teacher in Sbeitla. On 23 September last, the judicial police in Sbeitla came to him and arrested him because he had shared posts on his personal Facebook page, as a result of which he was accused of insulting the President of the Republic. After he was brought before the Public Prosecution, he was held in police custody and then referred to the Counter-Terrorism Judicial Pole in Tunis, since the charge brought against him had been classified as being of a terrorist nature, according to his lawyer. Kais Nsiri was held in custody for five days, before the Public Prosecution decided to extend the custody period by a further five days in order to complete the investigations and await the results of the technical examinations. The lawyer of the victim of the violation also indicated that the arrest of Kais Nsiri was accompanied by the arrest of his friend in Nabeul governorate, because of a conversation dating back to 2021 that was discovered on Kais's phone. He was referred to the Misdemeanour Chamber in Kasserine, and a hearing was set for 8 January 2025 at the Court of First Instance of Kasserine.
Human Rights Violations
The Tunisian State's practice of pursuing individuals and trying them because of their opinions is a serious violation of human rights and a breach of the international conventions that protect this right. What the victim of the violation shared in the digital space falls within the exercise of his right to express his opinion freely, and it is unreasonable to prosecute him, bring him before the courts and deprive him of his liberty for 15 days. Such malicious charges are repressive practices aimed at violating freedom of opinion and expression. Tracking people and prosecuting them because of their opinions is contrary to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: "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."
The Tunisian Constitution also enshrines freedom of opinion and expression through Article 37, which provides that "Freedom of opinion, thought, expression, information and publication shall be guaranteed", and Article 22, which provides that "The State shall guarantee to citizens individual and public rights and freedoms and shall provide them with the conditions for a decent life". These violations confirm the continuation of policies of gagging mouths and tying hands to prevent citizens in general from exercising their right to freedom of opinion and expression, such that the restrictions imposed turn the enjoyment of freedom of opinion and expression from a principle into an exception, emptying the right of its substance. This contradicts General Comment No. 34 of 2011 of the UN Human Rights Committee, which clarified that paragraph 2 of the above-mentioned Article 19 "protects all forms of expression and the means of their dissemination. Such forms include spoken, written and sign language and such non-verbal expression as images and objects of art. Means of expression include books, newspapers, pamphlets, posters, banners, dress and legal submissions. They include all forms of audio-visual as well as electronic and internet-based modes of expression."