Jasser Said

Summary

Jasser Said, a 22-year-old second-year university student of English, suffers from psychological disorders and has been under medical follow-up since 2020. He was arrested at his home on 20 August 2025 following a raid by the counter-terrorism unit in El Aouina. His family was not informed of his whereabouts, and his lawyer was prevented from attending during the investigation.

During police custody, he was forced to sign statements without reading them, which had a negative effect on his mental state. He spent 15 days under investigation before a committal warrant was issued against him for three months, further worsening his mental state.

On 27 January 2026, a psychiatric report found that he lacked criminal responsibility and ordered compulsory hospitalisation. Accordingly, the Public Prosecution at the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Pole of the Tunis Court of First Instance decided to close the case because the conditions for criminal liability were not met, with compulsory hospitalisation. However, as of the date of this documentation, Jasser Said has not been admitted to Razi Hospital and continues to be held in prison.

Personal Information

• Name: Jasser Said
• Age: 22
• Nationality: Tunisian
• Governorate: Ariana
• Nature of the violation: Arbitrary detention resulting from the failure to implement a judicial decision ordering compulsory hospitalisation, despite the absence of criminal responsibility.

Incidents of Violation

After the student Jasser Said published a post on social media, his home was violently stormed on 20 August 2025 by the counter-terrorism unit in El Aouina. His mobile phone was seized immediately upon entry, along with religious books belonging to his mother, according to her testimony.

This intervention left serious psychological effects on his 10-year-old younger brother, who showed symptoms of trauma, including refusing to study and to leave the house, which required him to be seen by a psychiatrist.

The victim was then taken away without his family being informed of his whereabouts, which led his mother to go from one police station to another in search of him.

During police custody and the investigation, the victim's mother stated that he was forced to sign statements he had not made, and that he was beaten when he refused, according to her account. On 21 August 2025, he was also prevented from meeting his lawyer, and he was deprived of visits for 15 days.

After 15 days of investigation without being allowed the presence of a lawyer, a committal warrant was issued against him for three months on a charge of glorifying terrorism under Article 31 of Organic Law No. 26 of 2015.

The victim suffers from severe psychological disorders, including bipolar disorder and mood disturbances, and has been under specialised medical follow-up since 2020; he suffered breakdowns during his detention.

After being examined by a psychiatrist at the Military Hospital of Tunis, a medical report was issued on 27 January 2026 finding that he lacked criminal responsibility and ordering compulsory hospitalisation.

On that basis, on the same date the investigation was closed and all charges against him were dismissed because the conditions for criminal liability were not met, under Article 38 of the Penal Code. A certificate of dismissal of the case was issued by the Public Prosecution at the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Pole of the Tunis Court of First Instance on 23 February 2026.

In the same context, on 27 January 2026 the First Investigating Judge at the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Pole sent a letter to the Minister of Health informing him of the compulsory hospitalisation decision.

The victim's mother also stated that on 28 January 2026 she went to Mornaguia Prison, where she was told that he had been admitted to Razi Hospital. However, when she went to the hospital, she was told that hospitalisation orders had not been implemented for years, and she was mistreated by the hospital administration while trying to inquire, according to her account.

Although three months have passed since his lack of criminal responsibility was established, Jasser Said remains detained in prison, deprived of his liberty, of continuing his studies and of direct visits with his family, without legal basis and in explicit contradiction with the compulsory hospitalisation decision.

Human Rights Violations

The facts set out reveal a series of serious and overlapping human rights violations which are not limited to isolated procedural breaches but reflect a whole course of infringement of fundamental rights guaranteed nationally and internationally.

The victim's home was stormed violently, in explicit violation of the inviolability of the home and the right to private life, rights guaranteed by Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which prohibits any arbitrary interference with the home, and by Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which affirms the protection of individuals against any unlawful or arbitrary interference; at national level, Article 24 of the 2022 Constitution provides for the protection of the inviolability of the home and that it may only be entered in accordance with legal conditions.

The arrest was also accompanied by violence and by forcing the victim to sign statements he had not made, which constitutes a serious violation of the right to physical integrity and of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, as well as of the right not to be compelled to confess. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibits subjecting anyone to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights affirms this prohibition absolutely and without exception. Article 23 of the 2022 Constitution enshrines these guarantees by protecting human dignity and the integrity of the body and prohibiting physical and moral torture, which includes the nullity of any confession obtained under duress.

Furthermore, fair trial guarantees were breached by preventing the victim from meeting his lawyer and depriving him of his right to defence during police custody, as well as by forcing him to make statements, contrary to Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees every accused person the right to defend himself and not to be compelled to confess; Article 35 of the 2022 Constitution also guarantees the rights of the defence and the presumption of innocence.

The failure to inform the family of the place where the victim was held, which forced his mother to go from one police station to another in search of him, constitutes a violation of the right to liberty and security and of the right to be informed promptly of the reasons for and place of arrest, as provided by Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, while Article 29 of the Constitution requires that the arrested person be informed of their rights and be allowed to contact their family, which was not respected in this case.

These violations are aggravated by the victim's state of health: he suffers from severe psychological disorders and has been under medical follow-up for years, yet appropriate health care was not provided during his detention, in breach of the right to health as recognised by Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and by Article 47 of the 2022 Constitution, which provides that health is a right for every person and that the State shall guarantee health care.

The violation becomes even more serious given that the victim's lack of criminal responsibility was established by an official medical report, followed by a judicial decision dismissing the charges against him; despite this, he continued to be deprived of his liberty and held in prison, in clear contradiction with the compulsory hospitalisation decision. This constitutes manifest arbitrary detention contrary to Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits arbitrary arrest, and to Article 29 of the Constitution, which guarantees personal liberty and allows it to be restricted only in accordance with legal procedures, especially after the criminal proceedings have lapsed.

This situation affects not only the right to liberty but also the right to education, as the victim's continued detention has deprived him of continuing his university studies, in breach of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrines the right to education, and Article 48 of the Constitution, which guarantees this right and obliges the State to protect it.

In addition, preventing the victim's family from direct visits in prison, and depriving him of seeing his sister in person before she left the country, constitutes a restriction of the prisoner's right to communicate with his family without any clear legal justification, especially since he has been found to lack criminal responsibility. This right is one of the fundamental guarantees linked to human dignity and conditions of detention, and international rules, in particular the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), stress the need to allow prisoners regular contact with their family members and to receive their visits without unjustified discrimination.

This prohibition also amounts to a disproportionate infringement of the right to family life, protected by Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits arbitrary or unlawful interference with family life.

At national level, depriving a family member of visits without a clear legal basis contradicts the principle of protecting human dignity guaranteed by Article 23 of the Constitution, especially where the restriction is not based on objective considerations, such as security requirements or organisational needs, but on unreasoned grounds, which reinforces the suspicion of arbitrariness in the management of his detention.

In light of the above, these facts as a whole reveal a pattern of cumulative violations affecting a range of fundamental rights, from the inviolability of the home and physical integrity, through fair trial guarantees, to the rights to liberty, health and education, which requires serious accountability of the bodies concerned and urgent measures to put an end to these violations and guarantee that they are not repeated.