Imen Ouerdani
Deputy Mayor of Sousse
Summary
Imen Ouerdani, a doctor of biology and Deputy Mayor of Sousse, has been held in the Manouba civil prison for women since May 2024, for nearly nine months, because of the signing of a partnership agreement between the Municipality of Sousse and the organisation "Tunisie Terre d'Asile".
Personal Information
Name: Imen Ouerdani
Nationality: Tunisian
Governorate: Sousse
Status: Deputy Mayor of Sousse
Charges: Money laundering, forgery, forming a criminal association to facilitate the entry of foreigners, and abuse of office
Incidents of Violation
In May 2024, the victim of the violation, Imen Ouerdani, was summoned for questioning in connection with the investigation opened against the organisation Tunisie Terre d'Asile. The authorities focused on a report by the organisation published in 2022, which stated that an office of Tunisie Terre d'Asile had been set up in the Municipality of Sousse following the signing of a partnership agreement between the organisation and the Municipality of Sousse that enabled it to open an office; the report stated that Sousse was the fourth region in terms of the number of registered refugees and asylum-seekers in Tunisia.
At the time, Imen Ouerdani held the position of chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee of the municipal council, in addition to her position as Deputy Mayor. When the above-mentioned organisation applied to open an office, as is standard practice for various civil society organisations, the file was examined; Imen, as chair of the committee, was present and in turn referred the application to the municipal council for approval, which subsequently referred it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because Tunisie Terre d'Asile is a branch of a foreign organisation.
On 10 May 2024, the victim of the violation appeared before the National Guard brigade in El Aouina, where the Public Prosecutor issued an order for her arrest, and a series of charges were brought against her relating to money laundering, forgery, forming a criminal association to facilitate the entry of foreigners, and abuse of office. There was no justification for her arrest, as the experts' report established that the victim's accounts contained no financial transaction linking her to the organisation Tunisie Terre d'Asile. In addition, all the questions put to Imen centred on her civic activity and the relationship between her and Tunisie Terre d'Asile.
Since that date, the victim of the violation has remained in prison for more than nine months, in conditions no different from those of the other civil society workers who have been detained because of their work and the violations they suffer inside the prison walls. Imen's mother also states that her daughter was refused permission to wear woollen clothing to protect herself from the cold in prison.
The victim of the violation is due to appear on Thursday 23 January 2025 before the expert committee for the reading of the financial report carried out on her, which established that her financial accounts contained no transactions linking her to Tunisie Terre d'Asile.
Human Rights Violations
The arrest and imprisonment of the victim of the violation took place in the same context as the arrests and judicial prosecutions that have targeted a number of civil society activists and representatives of associations in connection with the issue of migrants from sub-Saharan countries, as well as the official State discourse that has condemned and directly accused everyone involved in this issue.
In addition, incitement and media disinformation have harmed the rights of the victim of the violation and led to her imprisonment without any legal justification, resulting in a violation of her right to a fair trial, a right that sets out a series of standards aimed at ensuring that citizens are tried in accordance with legal safeguards and on the basis of the specific acts they have committed. Meanwhile, Imen has been deprived of her liberty for the past months, when it would have been possible to leave her at liberty.
Furthermore, what is happening to her contravenes Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him."
It also contravenes Article 14, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: "Everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law", and Article 33 of the 2022 Constitution of the Tunisian Republic, which provides that the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial in which he is guaranteed all the rights of defence during the stages of prosecution and trial.
Yet the authorities have classified all parties involved in the migrants issue as guilty, in violation of their right to the presumption of innocence. It must be stressed here that the trial must be impartial and non-discriminatory on any ground, and must be conducted in a manner that guarantees the rights of the accused, free from any logic of vindictiveness or persecution.
Sources
Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms carried out this documentation with the mother of the victim of the violation on 21 January 2025, and also relied on the article published on the Nawaat platform: "Imen Ouerdani: the doctor who fell victim to the President's speech" – Nawaat.