Hamza Dridi

Summary

Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms expresses its deep dismay at a new suspicious death recorded inside Borj El Amri prison, the victim of which was young Hamza Dridi, aged 33, who died on Wednesday 22 July 2026.

The victim of the violation had been detained for more than a year and nine months without any court judgment against him, and was awaiting his trial hearing scheduled for 21 October 2026, only for his life to end in mysterious circumstances shrouded in official secrecy.

The information documented by the Association from the deceased's family confirms that, shortly before his death, he suffered severe psychological deterioration as a result of the water supply to his cell being cut off for four consecutive days, which prevented him from meeting his daily needs, and he had informed his family of these conditions before his death.

The combination of these disastrous conditions, which the authorities concerned continue to deny, with the victim's death places direct responsibility for this death on the prison institution, and constitutes a serious violation of the right to life and of the rights guaranteed to persons in detention. Moreover, Hamza Dridi should not have remained in detention, given the absence of legal grounds justifying it and the fact that his detention exceeded the maximum period permitted by law.

In this context, Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms denounces the continuing violations suffered by detainees, the alarming rise in the number of suspicious deaths in prisons, and the official disregard for the deterioration of basic services in places of detention, which undermines the dignity and physical and psychological integrity of detainees.

The Association also calls on the judicial authorities to open an urgent, independent and transparent investigation, within a reasonable time, to uncover all the circumstances of Hamza Dridi's death, ensure that justice is done, and hold accountable anyone found to be involved or negligent, as required by law.

Finally, Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms calls for an end to the policy of secrecy, respect for the right of access to information, transparency in the management of state institutions, adherence to the rule of law and the guarantee of rights and freedoms. It also stresses the need to respect the memoranda of understanding concluded with the Ministry of Justice, to reactivate them promptly and to open prisons to the competent human rights bodies and organisations to enable them to monitor conditions of detention, thereby helping to ensure justice for all victims, support the reform process and address the crisis and the violations occurring within prison institutions.

Inside Prison

Hamza Dridi, a 33-year-old young Tunisian man, had been detained in Borj El Amri prison for more than a year and nine months without any court judgment against him, awaiting his trial hearing scheduled for 21 October 2026. He died on 22 July 2026 in suspicious circumstances.
Shortly before his death, he suffered severe psychological deterioration as a result of the water supply to his cell being cut off for four consecutive days, which prevented him from meeting his basic daily needs, and he informed his family of these conditions before his death. The authorities concerned continue to deny these disastrous conditions despite their documentation by his family. He died the following day in circumstances shrouded in official secrecy, even though he had been detained for a period exceeding the legal maximum for pre-trial detention without any legal justification for his continued detention.